


The Fury of a Dragon

by nightfangsflames



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Minor Character Death, Rape Recovery, Romance, The Companions - Freeform, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-02-05 01:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 26
Words: 54,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1800010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfangsflames/pseuds/nightfangsflames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two Wood elf sisters flee to Skyrim, running from their past. After the worst that could happen, Ariella seeks the Companions, hoping they accept this young fighter and her gentle sister as one of them. But what mysteries await these two as they adventure through their new home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Escape after Another

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first work of fanfiction, that I have been meaning to get to for weeks! I would love any kind of feedback, and thank you so much to anyone who reads this C:

Ariella thought back through the events that had taken place throughout the day. Calling it a long day had been an understatement, after being caught in an Imperial ambush and being brought to Helgen with her two-winters younger sister and Stormcloak rebels to be executed. How Imperial soldiers thought that two starving bosmer sisters only wearing rags and makeshift weapons were Stormcloak soldiers had been beyond Ariella. But that was the least of her worries now. What worried her was the massive black dragon that had massacred that entire town was still out there, searching for its next target. She was scared, for herself and her baby sister, Rin. That thought didn't sit well with her. 

What also didn't sit well with her was that the moment that Rin and her had settled into Alvor's home, he had sent them out to go to Whiterun to speak to the Jarl about sending more soldiers to protect the town. _It is the least we can do for these people,_ Rin had told her. It was true at least, Alvor and his wife Sigrid had given them both a plate full of delicious food. 

"It's like you haven't eaten in days!" Sigrid had casually joked. 

They hadn't. 

_At least Rin is safe,_ was all Ariella had to say to herself. That was what had mattered most to her, protecting her younger more innocent sister, who was more gentle than a lamb. 

  


Rin was quite most of the hour-long walk to Whiterun, and only spoke up once to ask, "Arie? When that.. Dragon.. had landed behind us, when we were running to escape into the keep with Hadvar.. Did you hear it, well, _talk_?" 

Ariella's gaze fell to the ground, she had thought she was the only one who heard the blood-chilling words of the dragon, or that she had imagined it. 

"Yes, I did. Though I do not know what he said," Ariella said plainly, making it clear she did not want to speak much on it. Rin dropped the subject after that. 

They had made it close to the city when Ariella had noticed the towering giant in a farm. Rin didn't even have time to think before she saw Ariella bounding towards this giant, bow drawn and arrow nocked, she hid behind a low wall and waited, she did not wish to hit one of the two mercenaries attacking the giant up close. 

The released arrow whizzed past and hit the giant in his right eye, blinding him in that eye, a second arrow released missed it's mark and hit his upper left shoulder. Ariella had nocked a third arrow, but the giant fell to the two mercenaries before she had the chance to release it. She rose from her hiding spot and was approached by a red haired nord woman. 

Rin had come running up behind her sister as this nord had been inviting her to join "The Companions", whoever they were. Rin turned her attention to the handsome nordic male who stood behind the red headed woman, Aela she said her name was, she noticed he was covered in sweat and blood, but she still blushed and giggled when he met her eye and gave her a big smile. 

Ariella politely said she would think about it, but Rin knew that meant she would likely never think about it again. _She was never one for guilds,_ Rin had thought. 

Ariella nodded a goodbye to the Companions, and she heard Aela as she walked away, "Girl put an iron arrow straight into the center of a giant's eye, skill like _that_ is what we need more of." Ariella shook her head and took her sister's hand as they walked into Whiterun for the first time. 

 

 

"You were at Helgen?!" Jarl Balgruuf exclaimed, unsure if he dared to believe it. Though it wouldn't be hard, these two girls had enough burns, scrapes and mud on them. The elder one with the black hair seemed to be the leader of the two, she had gotten right up in Irileth's face when she drew a sword on the younger one, and did most of the talking. 

"Yes, and we barely escaped with our lives, so will you send more soldier's to Riverwood already?" Ariella was tired and wanted nothing more but to crawl into a bed, not stand there and make conversation with the Jarl about an event she did not want to talk about. Balgruuf sighed, and called Irileth to his side, "Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once." She bowed her head and left through the doors of Dragonsreach. 

"You two have come here on your own initiative, and you have done Whiterun a service. I won't forget this. Take this robe as a reward for your service. There is one thing though, that might be suitable for someone of," the Jarl motioned at Ariella, handing her a black hooded robe, "Your particular talents. Come with me, I will show you to my court wizard, Farengar. He has been researching about these dragons for just about forever now. Now it seems to finally be of use." 

Ariella was growing more and more impatient, the sun had already gone down outside and she so desperately wanted a bath before bed. The only thing keeping her sane was Rin, lightly holding her hand while she hid behind her. 

"Farengar, I think I've found someone who can help you with your dragon project. Go ahead and fill her in with all the details," The Jarl said to a hooded mage, he gave a final so-long nod and returned to his great hall. 

Ariella and Rin stood awkwardly in the room for several minutes, waiting for Farengar to make a sound as he poured over books and scrolls. Rin noticed the slight foot tapping sound came from her sister, she knew she wasn't always the most patient person. A few more moments passed before Farengar spoke. 

"So, the Jarl thinks _you_ can be of use to me?" Farengar eyeballed Ariella, giving her a look of scorn. Rin held Ariella back as she saw her nose flare and her fists balled up. 

Farengar sighed, "Yes, I _could_ use someone to fetch something for me. Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous nordic ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or not be there." 

"All right, where am I going and what am I fetching?" Ariella spat the words out. 

"Straight to the point, eh? No need for the tedious hows and whys. I like that," He spoke, closing the distance between him and Ariella, giving her a playful wink. "Leave those details for your betters, right?" He glanced back to her eyes, the condescension radiated from his gaze. 

"You tell me what I need to do in the next ten seconds, or I will walk out this door and you can get your own damn stone tablet." Ariella snapped at him, she noticed the quick flinch as she barged right on up to him and forcefully pushed him onto his desk. 

Another sigh. 

"I, ah, learned of a certain stone tablet said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow- A "Dragonstone" said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. Go to the barrows and find this tablet, no doubt interred in the main chamber, and bring it to me. Simplicity itself." Farengar finally filled them in, Ariella released her grip, and spun out. 

"Where will we sleep?" Rin asked in her quiet little voice, chasing behind. Ariella sighed, not knowing where they could go with almost no money. She stomped back up to the Jarl. 

"My Jarl, may I ask, my sister and I are both currently homeless. Where in town would be able to bed us, without a fee? It is far too late to walk all the way back to Riverwood, two injured women on the road would not be safe." Ariella asked, putting on the most desperate face she could hold. 

Balgruuf sighed as Ariella touched his hand, he felt sad for these two girls. For wood elves, they were both very pretty. It was true that it was too late to walk alone to Riverwood. 

"Dragonsreach's beds are all filled, but we have two inns in town, The Bannered Mare and the Drunken Huntsman. The Mare has plenty of drink and is usually full of people, the Huntsman is a bit quieter if that's how you prefer. If you have a knack for fighting, the Companions are recruiting, they give their recruits beds, food and drink. If you have no other option, you can go to the temple of Kynareth and speak with Danica, I am sure she would let you stay," Balgruuf suggested to them, holding Ariella's hand with a tight squeeze of 'good luck'. He felt happy right before she released his hand, though he did not know why. 

"Thank you, Jarl Balgruuf. We will find this Dragonstone for you as soon as we are recovered." Ariella gave him a grateful smile and bowed her head, guiding her sister away to the doors. 

The big doors opened for them, and the moon and stars were already out. _The Skyrim night is beautiful,_ Ariella thought to herself. 

"Where should we go?" Rin asked. Ariella trifled through her small bag, only finding 4 septims. 

"Well, we can't buy a room anywhere for 4 septims.. " Ariella frowned, her options are limiting. 

"Arie?" Rin asked, her face serious as she grabbed both of Ariella's hands, "You know how to fight. You are good at-"

" **No** , Rin." 

"Arie, please! You fight better than the average mer, man and beast! You know how to protect yourself, you know how to shoot an elk from two fields away, you-"

"Shooting an elk is different than being a mercenary," Ariella said, trying to pull away, Rin's grip tightened. 

"Ariella. They can keep us safe. You have what it takes to be one of them, and they will protect you. He will come after us, you know that. We don't have a choice, we can't just run forever," Rin released Ariella's hand, and gave her a sad look. Ariella dropped her gaze, Rin was right. If he finds them, then all this running was a waste. They were both quiet for what felt a long time before Ariella spoke. 

"Alright. I will become a Companion." 


	2. He Can Do It Himself!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella decides to try at the Companions, and makes some new friends and possibly enemies! Will joining be a mistake?

Ariella had a bad feeling when she walked into the Halls of Jorrvaskr for the first time, and a fight breaking out. She thanked the Gods for the hooded robe that covered her face, and thanked Balgruuf for providing it to her. She didn't want to be seen skulking around the back of the halls. She walked in quietly, no one seemed to notice her while the brawl was going on. She glanced around and saw an older woman sweeping close by, and quickly approached her, keeping her voice low.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you but, could you tell me who I ask to join the Companions?" Ariella said sheepishly. She felt like an idiot not knowing anything about this group she was about to join.

"Oh no, dearie! No trouble at all. The one you are looking for is Kodlak Whitemane, He's going to be downstairs in his study, just take the stairs right on down and go to the end of the hall," The old woman said with a bright smile.

Ariella reached out and touched her arm and sent back a happy smile, "Thank you so much, may I get your name? I wish to tell Kodlak about the kind woman upstairs who helped me."  
The old woman laughed, "Oh, you are a sweet one, I'm sure Kodlak will love you! My name is Tilma dear, I'm only a maid here."  
"Well, thank you Tilma. I appreciate it. My name is Ariella. May I ask a favor? I told my sister to wait outside for a couple minutes while I went to speak to Kodlak, I was not sure if there would be anyone friendly enough for her to be around while I spoke to him. Could you possibly get her and keep her company? She's afraid of being alone, poor dear," Ariella asked, still touching Tilma's arm.

Tilma felt an overwhelming urge to comfort this girl's poor sister, and nodded happily and walked to the door to find Ariella's sister. Ariella took the opportunity to sneak by the rest of the Companions and follow down the steps Tilma had directed her to. She turned to look down the long hall and saw an open door at the end of the hall, and she could see the bookshelves from where she was.

_I assume that is his study then.. Why do I suddenly feel so nervous?_ Ariella thought as she took small steps down the hall, tugging on her hood to cover more of her face. Once she had gotten closer, she realized more than one person was in a room, and that they were deep in conversation. She hid out of sight from the door and listened.  
"But I still hear the call of the blood," She heard one man say.

"We all do, it is our burden to bear. But we can overcome." Another man said, this one sounding older.  
  
"You have my brother and I, obviously. But I don't know if the rest will go along quite so easily," The first man said.  
  
 _Maybe I should just go.._ Ariella thought to herself.  
  
"Leave that to me, but for now, we have a guest," The second man stated. Ariella felt her heart drop, _How could he possibly have known I was out here?_  
  
She stepped into the room, blushing under the dark hood, and stood sheepishly in front of the older man. Her mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out.  
  
The other man, a younger, more handsome nord, sat impatiently, tapping his foot and shooting daggers from his eyes at her. He looked like one of the nords she had met with the giant, only smaller built and broodier. Much broodier. "Well? What is it girl?" He spat, as if hearing her thoughts.  
  
Ariella glared back at him, and returned a softer gaze back to the old man, whom she assumed was Kodlak.  
  
"I would like to join the Companions," Ariella said, trying to muster up as much confidence in her voice as she could. The man beside her snorted, earning a harsh look from the older man.  
"Would you now? Here, take off your hood and let me have a look at you," Kodlak said, getting to his feet. Ariella slowly removed the hood, her black hair fell out.  
  
Kodlak examined the girl, she was malnourished at best, her hair was long and black, and could easily get caught and used against her. She was very pretty in the face, especially for a wood elf. She looked as if she hadn't seen the sun in decades, which was odd for her race. But there was something in those sad gray eyes that gazed back at him that made him feel confident in her.  
  
Ariella stood there awkwardly as Kodlak looked at her up and down. She felt insecure, but tried her best not to show it.  
  
"Hmm, yes, perhaps. A certain strength of spirit," Kodlak said after a couple moments past. Ariella beamed at him, as if she had thought he would kick her right out to begin with.  
  
"Master, you're not truly thinking of accepting _her_?" the man shot up defensively, Ariella glared so hard at this man, she had hoped a dagger could have actually flown from her eyes.  
  
"I am nobody's master, Vilkas. And last I checked, we had empty beds in Jorrvaskr for those with a fire burning in their hearts," Kodlak had defended his judgment. _So Vilkas is his name_ Ariella spat to herself. She had the feeling they wouldn't be getting along.  
  
"Apologies. But perhaps this isn't the time, I've never even heard of this outsider!" Vilkas attempted to convince Kodlak. Kodlak put an arm on Ariella, giving her a warm-heartening look, like he was sure she could do anything.  
  
"Sometimes the famous come to us. Sometimes man and women come to us to seek their fame. It makes no difference. What matters is their heart." Kodlak preached, Ariella couldn't help but smile.  
  
"And their arm.." Vilkas tried to get one last jab in.  
  
"But of course, how are you in battle, girl?" Kodlak asked, Ariella became nervous again.  
  
"Well, I know enough to handle myself, but I have much to learn," Ariella dropped her gaze to the ground, hoping to the Gods that they wouldn't mind. To her surprise, Kodlak beamed at her again.  
  
"That's the spirit! Vilkas, here, will get started on that!" Kodlak said, looking over to Vilkas and giving him a stern look, "Vilkas, take her out to the yard in the morning and see what she can do."  
  
Vilkas tried to hold back a groan as he simply said, "Aye," and turned to leave. That was when he bumped right into Rin, who had equally managed to sneak her way in.  
  
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Rin said, sinking back and dropped her gaze to the ground sheepishly. Vilkas growled and stormed on past, not looking back once.  
  
"I am sorry about Vilkas, he can be a little.. Hot-tempered. But he is a good man, and you can learn a lot from him," Kodlak told Ariella, putting his arm on her shoulder again.  
  
"Oh, Kodlak, I had one more thing. My sister here, Rin, she has nowhere else to go either. She is a wonderful apothecary and she knows restoration magic better than any man, mer or beast I have ever met, and she-" Ariella said before she was cut off by Kodlak's laughter.  
  
"Your sister may stay with us as well, your family is our family now," Kodlak said with a smile.  
  
Ariella couldn't control her action, and threw her arms around Kodlak in a hug, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She held back tears, as Kodlak lightly laughed and gave her a nice squeeze.  
"You are welcome, my dear. How many winters have you both seen? By your bright faces, I would say you are both very young," Kodlak asked curiously, earning a giggle from Rin.  
  
"I've seen twenty-two winters, Rin here has seen twenty," Ariella said beaming.  
  
"Well I am sure that even with the short time you've seen in this world, you'll make a big impact. Here, let's have Farkas show you where you are to sleep. Farkas!" Kodlak called down the hall, and the nord from earlier had come running up.  
  
"You were calling me, Harbinger?" Farkas asked, glancing at both Ariella and Rin.  
  
"Show these New Bloods where they will be resting their heads," Kodlak instructed.  
  
"New Bloods? Oh! I remember you two. Come on, follow me," Farkas said with a friendly smile. He led us to the opposite end of the hall, to a door across from the stairs. "This is where you guys will sleep, just pick a bed and fall in it. Tilma will keep the place clean, she always has. Oh and, welcome to the Companions!"  
  
After he walked away, Rin giggled and blushed, earning a teasing slap on the shoulder from Ariella, "Don't be getting crushes on guys you've just met! Who knows, he could be a werewolf for all you know!"  
  
Rin laughed and lightly pushed Ariella, "Yeah, I'm sure that is _exactly_ what will happen!"  
  
They both pushed each other around teasingly for a moment, but were too tired to continue to play around. It had been an impossibly long day, and it wasn't hard for them to fall into a couple of beds and drift off to sleep.

 

 

"Come on, _whelp_ , hit me!" Vilkas challenged Ariella, who had successfully blocked every strike Vilkas made at her. Sweat dripped down both of them, the hot sun poured down with no mercy.  


Part of her wanted to bash his head in with a sword. Another part of her wanted to continue to hide behind the shield, both frustrating him more and staying safe from his blows.  


She waited, like a viper ready to strike, until she found her opening. He charged at her, sword high in the air. She gracefully ducked and twirled under and out of the way, and used the momentum from her twirl to hit him on his side. He stumbled, but picked himself up quickly and came back fast. Luckily, Ariella knew she was faster. Every time he swung at her, she gracefully ducked and darted, or twirled like a dancer out of the way. _You'd think he would've caught on by now,_ Ariella thought.  


To the bystanders, this was quite an amusing fight. Farkas stood watch with Rin, both giggling at each other and half-watching the fight ensue. A few of the other whelps had stood out to watch too, placing bets on who would win. At times they would cheer and clap and laugh to one another.  


"This is getting quite boring, can't you put up more of a challenge?" Ariella smirked as she watched Vilkas huff and puff, tired and hot under his heavy armor. There were a couple of hoots and hollers from the rest of the Companions, and a burning glare from Vilkas. He made one last charge at her, to pin her down, but she jumped up and leap-frogged over his back, pushing him into the dirt.  


There were a few cheers and laughs as a few of the other whelps crowded Ariella, patting her on the back. Farkas came over to help Vilkas up, but was ungraciously pushed out of the way. Vilkas stormed over, pushing through the whelps.  


"You _might_ just make it. But you are still a whelp to us, new blood, so don't get cocky. And do what we tell you. Here's my sword. Take it up to Eorlund to have it sharpened," He pushed his sheathed sword into Ariella, "and be careful, it's probably worth more than you are."  


With that, he stormed back into Jorrvaskr, Ariella glaring at him more with each step.  


"Don't worry about him, he just isn't used to being beat," Farkas came up to Ariella, "I'm sure he'll like you after a couple weeks, he just takes some time to warm up to." He tried to put out a smile, but he knew his brother was just being rude.  


"If he's looking for someone to kiss his ass, he can do it himself," Ariella spat, dropping the sword on the ground, and stormed off around the side of Jorrvaskr.  


Rin quickly fell to her knees, picking the sword up as fast as she can. She knew Ariella had a temper, but she never made outbursts like that.  


"I'm sorry about my sister.. She is just.. Competitive? I think that is the right word.." Rin got up and fidgeted nervously with the sword tucked under her arm, gaze to the ground, "I... I should go," She said, scurrying off as fast as she could up to the Skyforge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading, I hope you all like it!


	3. Like a Beautiful, Shining Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella has a serious talk with Kodlak, revealing a lot about her past. Ariella receives her first contract.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my new friends, I would just like to post that there is a Trigger Warning for this chapter, it talks a little bit about abuse and sexual abuse/rape, so please read at your risk.

It was getting late in the night, Ariella had plopped herself down comfortably on the back porch steps, staring up at the stars. She did not mind the cold so much now, after almost being burnt to a crisp by a dragon. Ariella liked being out late, where it was quiet and she could be alone, away from all the loud sounds that were bound to happen at a mead hall. 

She didn't even notice Kodlak come out until he sat down next to her. 

"So what do you think about the Companions, now that you have been with us a few days?" He asked, he seemed genuinely curious with how he leaned close. Ariella paused, unsure how to answer, and wasn't quite sure why he cared. 

"Well. There's definitely a lot of training," she answered, grimacing while she ran her hand along her arm, which was now covered in bruises from blocking. _Maybe egging Vilkas on wasn't the greatest idea,_ she thought to herself. 

Kodlak gave a hearty laugh, "That there is! But you can only get better from here, girl. How are the others treating you and your sister?" 

She smiled at that, thinking of her sister. Farkas had taken a liking to Rin, and would follow her around like a puppy dog, not that Rin had minded. Aela had said she would love to hunt with Ariella, and that they could both learn a thing or two from the other. Athis seemed curious of the two new girls who now resided there, but hadn't said much to either. Torvar had made quite an impression when he drunkenly threw his arm around Ariella's shoulder and saying how "such a pretty girl shouldn't sleep alone" and that she was "welcome to take up his offer anytime", which earned him a nice shove to the floor. Ariella hardly spoke to Skjor, who really only praised her after hearing how she knocked Vilkas flat on his face during her first training session. 

"So far everyone has been very friendly. Farkas and Rin get along very well, which is good considering they're both very similar. Aela invited me to go hunting sometime, though I do not know when," Ariella smiled politely, trying to speak highly about the other Companions. 

"And Vilkas?" His eyes narrowed on Ariella, curious at how their friendship would hopefully develop. 

Ariella sighed, "The guy pretty much hates me. I don't know why, he hated me even before I sent him flying to the ground. He won't even let me have my first contract. Says I'm 'not ready' for it." 

"Vilkas is.. Very stubborn. He does not hate you, he just does not know you. To him, you are a possible threat walking into his home. Give him time, he will warm up to you," Kodlak said softly. 

"May I please have my first contract? I know I won't mess it up! Promise!" Ariella put her hand on his bare arm while she implored to him. She wanted to prove herself to them. Kodlak gave her a puzzled look, looking down at her hand and up at her face. 

"That's a neat trick you got there," Kodlak commented with a light smile. 

Ariella pulled back, shocked, no one had caught onto her magic touch before. Suddenly she felt embarrassed for having tried it on him. 

"No need to feel embarrassed, that's a very special talent!" Kodlak calmed her. 

"I've.. I've always had it. It's helped me and Rin a lot.." Ariella confessed, "I didn't think anybody could tell." For as long as she can remember, she could always manipulate people's feelings and decisions with a touch of her hand. It came in handy quite a lot, but only worked on skin contact. 

"Well there is no need to use it on me, I will always be reasonable with you, and I think you've very well earned at least one or two contracts, I will speak to Vilkas in the morning about it. Now tell me a bit about yourself Ariella, I hardly know anything about our newest members," he asked curiously. Ariella got nervous, their past wasn't something she had hoped to talk about. _Well, if I get it out in the open, at least he'll know what's going on if something bad does happen,_ Ariella thought to herself. 

"My sister and I.. Well, I don't know what you would call us. When we were young, we were bought by a powerful altmer sorcerer. He was a cruel man, and would abuse and harass all of his slaves. He had Rin learn to be an apothecary in case he needed it, and he had me as his personal servant. He had me taught the ways of a bard, I would entertain him however he wished, and if he commanded me to kill, I would. No one would expect a dagger to the throat from a little slave girl, he would say. But we weren't children forever. I had always been taught to accept whatever they did to me, and not give a fight or I would be whipped, but when Rin got old enough.. I saw the way he looked at her.. She is already scared enough of people, I couldn't let them do the things they did to me," Ariella paused and swallowed hard, "I had been there long enough to know my way around his mansion. I had drugged his alcohol with some herbs that Rin provided me, we snuck out in the middle of the night and ran. Never looking back. So we came here, to Skyrim. Everything kind of went downhill from there until now." 

Kodlak was very quiet for several moments, taking it all in. Ariella sat, fidgeting nervously. She felt she could trust him with this, and was surprised that it all came out easier than she thought. Kodlak reached over to her, grabbing her hands tightly. 

"Ariella, you and your sister are safe with us. Nothing bad will happen to you while you are with us, is that clear?" Kodlak said, staring her deep in the eyes. Ariella nodded, some tears made their escape and ran down her face. "Get some sleep young one, tomorrow will be a new day." 

 

 

Ariella was out training in the yard all the next morning. Rin sat along the wall, reading two books, The City of Stone and Ancestors and The Dunmer, over and over again, occasionally glancing up to see Ariella swing at one of the practice dummies. Rin hadn't felt inclined to take up learning to fight, she was much happier watching from a safe distance, and Ariella was ok with that. Rin knew her sister would most likely always be her protector, that she would go to the ends of Nirn to find her if she ever got lost. _What a great sister,_ she smiled to herself. 

It was about midday when Ariella heard the big iron doors to Jorrvaskr open and slam, and two heavy feet stomped across the ground. She knew it was Vilkas without turning around, and didn't very well care to turn to look at him with how annoyed he seemed. 

"New blood!" Vilkas yelled from the edge of the porch. 

Ariella sighed, she didn't feel like dealing with this today. She continued to strike at the dummy, and without turning to look at him, she called, "What?" 

"You have a contract," was all the reply Ariella needed before she dropped the sword and sped to the porch. Vilkas admit, he didn't think she would be so excited for a contract. "Alright, alright, calm down new blood. Your assignment is to clear out all the bandits in the Silent Moons Camp, just north of Whiterun. Farkas has agreed to be your Shield-Sibling, since it is your first contract. You will be leaving tomorrow, in the morning, bright and early. Any questions?" 

Ariella shook her head, just answering with the giant smile on her face. It was almost endearing in fact, and was probably the first time she actually looked at him without a glare to her eyes. He turned to walk away and wondered why that made him feel sort of.. Happy? 

As soon as Vilkas had closed the doors, Ariella leapt all throughout the training yard in excitement. She even lift Rin to her feet and danced around playfully for a minute, until they both had settled down and laughed with one another. 

"My first contract, I can't believe it! I know Kodlak said he would talk to him, but I didn't think he meant it! Imagine it now, Rin! One day we'll have enough money saved up that we could buy a.. A.. Well, I don't know what we would buy! But we'll buy three of whatever it is!" Ariella beamed, her thoughts racing far ahead of her. The iron doors opened again and Farkas walked out, joining their celebration. 

"So you finally get your first contract! I bet you're excited to get started," Farkas said, giving both Rin and Ariella a friendly smile. 

"Yes! I finally get some action around here, besides annoying your brother for fun! Say um, what exactly does it mean to be a 'shield-sibling'?"Ariella joked with him until she realized she didn't really know what she was supposed to do. 

"Oh, it just means that I'll be accompanying you during the contract. Just to make sure you don't get yourself into any trouble or tight spots. Kodlak seemed to insist on you not going alone," Farkas said, wondering to himself. _So he meant what he said to me last night.._ Ariella thought silently to herself, her heart filled with warmth. 

"Oh, alright, and what should I bring supply wise?" She asked, before she ran off to pack. 

"Just a bed roll, some food, weapons, armor. The usual stuff," He said plainly, her question caught him by surprise. Had she never been camping before? 

"Alright, thank you Farkas! We will go get our things packed for tomorrow!" Ariella said happily, grabbing Rin's hand and racing inside Jorrvaskr, Rin glanced back once to smile at him. 

Farkas was excited to have the chance to get to know his new shield-siblings. He had spoken to them both, but didn't know much about them. He knew he liked Ariella, she was strong and could handle herself in a fight. She didn't take any of the other Companions shit, and was very headstrong. Rin on the other hand, he couldn't believe she would hurt a butterfly. She was so beautiful with her long curly auburn hair and lightly tanned skin. She walked so lightly on her feet as if she was afraid to squish the grass, and her giggle sounded like little bells. His favorite thing about her was she always smelt like honey and the yellow mountain flowers that he'd find on the road. That's what she reminded him of, was a delicate, beautiful shining flower. She didn't look a lot like her sister, in fact he probably wouldn't have known they were related unless he was told. They acted so differently, much like him and Vilkas. He grew even more excited to go on this adventure. 


	4. I'm Quite Fine By Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella's first contract goes well, a celebration is hosted at the Bannered Mare, and things go wrong. Vilkas's viewpoint at the end of the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: sexual assault, flashbacks.

Ariella was very proud at how she handled her first contract. The plains were flat enough she could get a nice hiding spot with her bow, and picked several bandits off before they even noticed someone was taking them out. Ariella decided to move closer and take them on up front. It was all very easy, even when one of the bandits managed to knick her arm with a dagger, which she insisted to Rin that she should leave it, as both proof of her finishing the job and that she can handle getting hurt. _Silly maybe, but I would like to prove a point,_ She told herself over and over. 

Ariella also insisted on taking everything back that they could find. Books, potions, and even a few enchanted weapons that had been lying around the forge. "Might as well make a profit while we're out here," she had said. After she grabbed as much as she could, Farkas, Rin and her made their way back towards Whiterun, laughing and joking heartily along the way. The girls decided mutually that they enjoyed Farkas, and his lightheartedness. He was a lot different than most of the other Companions, who took everything a bit more seriously. 

 

 

Everyone had been prepared to celebrate when Farkas, Rin and Ariella had arrived back safely. Torvar and Athis insisted on throwing a party down at the Bannered Mare, where they all could drink and be merry. They made their way down later in the evening, after it had started to get dark. Most of the companions had joined the fun, even Vilkas. Ariella hadn’t decided whether they liked the attention or not, but figured it was all worth it when she saw how Rin smiled when Farkas talked to her. She had drank three bottles of mead all by herself, and felt a little woozy and decided to sit down for a little bit. She watched as Torvar laughed and sang, dancing around in circles with Athis, she watched Rin smile and giggle every time Farkas would speak, and Vilkas stand awkwardly next to him occasionally glancing at the two. Aela and Skjor stood in a corner towards the back, standing close and whispering into each other’s ears. Ria had already gotten extremely drunk and hung on Njada’s shoulder, Njada sulking after being rejected, trying to flirt with Vilkas. There were other citizens in the Inn, who were happily mingling and drinking to their hearts content’s. Ariella was happy here; it felt like it could possibly be home for her and her sister. She didn’t mind that thought so much. 

While Ariella was deep in thought, she didn’t notice the Inn’s bard sit right on down next to her. She didn’t notice him until he leaned in closer and tried to whisper into her ear. 

“Such a pretty girl shouldn’t be sitting all alone, why don’t I keep you company?” He asked. Ariella had heard about this bard, Mikael was his name. She had heard a couple of the local women complain of him and his perversion towards them. 

“No thank you, I’m quite fine by myself,” Ariella said bluntly, turning to face the other way. 

“Oh, so you like to play hard to get, huh? I like that. Come on, let me keep you company,” Mikael urged more, scooting closer to her. 

“I said I am fine. Now **stop** ,” Ariella growled, scooting to the edge of the bench. People began to notice what was going on, but no one stepped in to say anything. 

“You can’t convince me that you don’t want my attention,” Mikael purred, running his hand up her thigh. Ariella went pale; she didn’t know what to do or how to react. She felt a sickness creep up into her stomach that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Her mind blanked, she couldn’t help her reaction. She wanted to push him off, she wanted to say no, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. 

“Bard, hands off the girl, now,” She heard a voice say. She looked up in a daze to see Vilkas, standing over her protectively. 

“Oh and why should I listen to you?” Mikael argued, standing up to get in Vilkas’ face. 

“If you’re smart, you would listen,” Vilkas spoke again, his voice strangely calm. Ariella started breathing quickly as she felt panic spread through her veins.

“I’m not afraid of you, you’re just mad that she’s choosing to spend time with me and not—“ Mikael didn’t get to finish his sentence before Vilkas punched him in the side of the face. Mikael flew back over the bench, and groaned on the ground. Ariella took the opportunity to dart, making her way out of the Bannered Mare as everyone gathered, itching for a fight. 

She only made it a few feet away from the doors before she fell to her knees, violently shaking and sweating. She fought the urge to throw up, and tried to slow down her breathing. She heard the inn’s doors open again, and heard the steel boots come down each step and approach her. 

“Ariella? She heard Vilkas behind her, though she did not want to turn around. He came closer and knelt next to her, “Ariella, are you alright?” 

It took her several long moments before she could shake her head no, fighting back tears. He reached out to touch her, and recoiled when she shot backwards away from his touch. 

“Will you let me carry you home?” He asked, keeping close, without touching her. She stared at him with sad eyes, and stared down to the ground in thought. After several minutes, she nodded, leaning into his muscular arms as he lifted her up and carried her all the way back to Jorrvaskr. 

 

 

Vilkas didn’t like parties. He always felt like the odd one out, the one no one ever really wanted to be around. People would drink and laugh and socialize, but he would much rather sit by himself and read, or go out hunting over being around people. Everyone had insisted on him coming to the Bannered Mare despite his complete distaste for large gatherings. But once they had convinced Skjor to come, he knew he had no chance at saying no. 

The Mare was a nice enough establishment, and it had good mead, and he figured he would have the time to think to himself while everyone is busy with each other. Things didn’t go quite according to plan. Njada had a few too many bottles of mead, and tried her luck at flirtation. She came sauntering right up, to where her body nearly pressed up against his. Vilkas had been with women before, but he would never think of Njada in a positive way even if his life depended on it. He couldn’t make out what she was saying through her drunken slurs, and could hardly scoot away with how she pressed herself into him on one side, and the bar on the other. He had noticed Ariella from across the Inn, giggling to herself and watching. _She is probably going to give me hell for this in the morning _, he thought to himself.__

After politely declining whatever offer Njada had made, he settled down next to his brother, who was too busy stumbling over his words talking to Rin. He sat and thought to himself for a while, until he heard something that caught his attention. 

“I said I am fine. Now **stop** ,” he heard Ariella speak, he quickly noticed that handsy bard making clearly unwanted advances towards the girl. Something deep in him growled, he did not like seeing that bard so close to her, and he did not like seeing the fear in Ariella as she desperately tried to scoot away. 

Enough was enough when the bard started to grope her leg. Vilkas could see how pale Ariella had gotten as soon as a hand was laid on her, he could smell the fear that radiated off of her. He decided to step in; after all, the whelps are his responsibility he told himself. 

“Bard, hands off the girl, now.” He demanded, standing as tall as he could. All eyes in the inn were stuck on him, carefully watching what was about to happen. Ariella had glanced up, seemingly surprised, as she should be. 

“Oh and why should I listen to you?” The bard tried to argue, standing up and puffing up his scrawny chest. _This man is an embarrassment to nords everywhere_ , Vilkas thought to himself. 

“If you’re smart, you would listen,” Vilkas warned, keeping a straight face and trying to sound intimidating. He heard Ariella begin to hyperventilate, she had her head in her hands as she began to curl up and rock herself; _most likely trying to calm down,_ he thought. 

The bard snorted, “I’m not afraid of you, you’re just mad that she’s choosing to spend time with me and not—“ 

That was enough reason for Vilkas to punch this man across the inn. Everyone suddenly began to crowd around the two, calling for the bard to get up, and telling Vilkas to “kick his ass”. But Vilkas didn’t want to fight. He knew Ariella had ran out, he could smell the trail of mixed emotions run lead right out the doors. Rin tried to push through people to get to the door, to no avail until Vilkas came and pushed people aside and helped her. 

“I should go see if she’s alright,” Rin murmured, looking back to Farkas with sad eyes. 

“No, allow me. Stay here and have fun, I will take care of your sister,” Vilkas insisted. Rin stared up at him with wide surprised eyes, and nodded before turning to walk away. Vilkas went outside and could see Ariella on the ground, breathing fast and shaking worse than a rabbit that’s been spotted. 

“Ariella?” He called to her after he made it down the steps. She didn’t turn to meet him and he knew something was off. He knelt next to her and tried to sound as calming as possible, “Ariella are you alright?” 

He waited until she shook her head, he could tell she was probably trying her best not to cry. He wanted to comfort her, to make her feel safe, he reached out to touch her. She noticed his movement and fell backwards, trying to scoot away. _Why is she afraid of me?_ he wondered. 

“Will you let me carry you home?” He asked, scooting close to her but paying close attention not to touch her. She stared up at him with sad eyes, and for the first time, Vilkas wondered what exactly could have happened to make such a feisty young girl so terrified of people. He watched her wonder to herself, and she finally nodded and let him scoop her up in his arms. 

“Vilkas?” he heard her whisper as he carried her up the stairs towards Jorrvaskr. 

“Yes, new blood?” He answered her, hoping that would comfort her. 

“Thank you for being so nice to me,” she mumbled, she was curled against his chest so he could not see her face. He felt the ghost of a smile on his face. They were halfway up the stairs leading up to Jorrvaskr when she spoke again. 

“Vilkas?” 

“Yes, new blood?” he answered again. 

“I’m still going to think you’re an ass.” He could see her smile, and for a second, he showed a trace of a smile back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I would just like to say I may not be able to post in the next day, I am going to be going to Comic Con in Las Vegas, and so I won't really have much opportunity to write. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, I wanted to make it clear that Vilkas wasn't going to be an ass all the time to everyone! Thanks for reading.


	5. What Were Those Things?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella begins to feel an overwhelming urge to go to Bleak Falls Barrow, like something is pulling her there. Vilkas, Farkas, Rin and Ariella go to the barrow together, tensions rise and new things are discovered when they get there.

              The next couple weeks, things only got better. Instead of the usual glares Ariella would give Vilkas, it was replaced with a light smile. She did her best to avoid him the first few days before things went back to normal. And in those weeks, something kept bothering Ariella; something called her, quietly in her sleep. She would think about what Farengar had asked her, she had said she would go after the ‘Dragonstone’. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go after it. She decided to approach Kodlak about it. After explaining, Kodlak seemed surprisingly supportive.  

              “Where did you say this stone was again?” He asked her.  

              “Farengar said it is the main chamber of Bleak Falls Barrow. Or at least, he thinks so..” Ariella trailed off, wondering if it really was there.  

              "Bleak Falls Barrow? That's the Nordic ruin just west of Riverwood, up the mountainside. But be warned, sleeping terrors lurk within the halls of Nordic ruins," Kodlak warned, giving Ariella a concerned look. He trusted that Ariella could handle herself, but he knew how dangerous those ruins could be.  

              "I think I could handle it. Plus if I get hurt, I have Rin, she can heal me," Ariella insisted, she couldn't risk being told no. She needed to go to the Barrow, and didn't know why.  

       "I will not stop you, but I urge you to at least consider bringing a shield-brother or sister," Kodlak pleaded.  

              "Shield-brother for what?"  

        Vilkas stood in the wide open doors, staring in with Farkas right behind him.  

              "Well, uh. Rin and I need to go to Bleak Falls Barrow to fetch something for Farengar. Kodlak says I should bring someone with me, but I--"

       "We'll go," Vilkas cut Ariella off before she finished, motioning back to his brother. Farkas and Ariella looked at him, surprised, Kodlak just smiled to himself, not saying a word.  

              "Well, I, uh.. Is that okay for so many companions to leave at once?" Ariella fumbled over her words, looking to Kodlak for an answer.  

              "Yes, yes, we will be fine here. Now go, go to the Barrow and get your Dragonstone. And stay safe!" Kodlak assured, motioning them to leave. Ariella bowed her head and turned to leave, and glanced at Vilkas on her way out. She was confused, she hadn't expected him to come, let alone volunteer to. She went to the bedrooms where she found Rin on a bed, reading A Game At Dinner, who glanced at her and smiled.  

              "Mission's a go?" She asked.  

              "Yeah, mission is a go. And guess what? Your little boyfriend is coming," Ariella teased, nudging  her and smiling, then went to pack her clothes, bed roll and supplies. Rin blushed and muttered, "He's not my boyfriend," quickly under her breath, then smiled to herself in thought of what it would be like if he was.  

              "Vilkas is coming too. They volunteered to come. We'll be safe," Ariella assured, though she was sure Rin wasn't worried in the first place. Ariella continued to pack when Vilkas walked in, and leaned against the doorframe.  

              "How long until you two are ready to hit the road? It will be a few hours to get to the Barrow, and we'll probably have to spend the night inside," Vilkas asked as he watched Ariella continue to shove her things in a bad.  

              "I've packed my stuff, I'm packing Rin some things now. I should be ready in about ten minutes," Ariella answered, too busy to look up. Vilkas stood there a moment, watching, not saying a word. "Is there anything else you need?" Ariella stopped packing and turned to him, placing a firm hand on her hip. Vilkas looked at her like he was a deer being hunted, and shook his head quickly and turned and left.  Ariella stared at where Vilkas had been, every time she spoke to him left her with more and more confusion.  

              After a few more minutes, Ariella finished packing and threw a bag at Rin, urging her to get going. Vilkas and Farkas had already been upstairs waiting for them. They exchanged quick farewells with the rest of the companions and made their way out of Whiterun. The road to Riverwood wasn't long, but it was spent with Farkas trying to talk to Rin about everything from flowers to Hagravens. Vilkas avoided talking as much as he could, until they came close to Riverwood.  

         "We should go get supplies while we're in Riverwood. We don't want to run out while we're in the ruins."  

              "We're already behind on time, we don't have enough time to be shopping," Ariella insisted on continuing.  

          "Kodlak considers this to be Companion's business, meaning _I'm_ in charge," Vilkas stopped in the road, determined to get his way. Rin and Farkas both became uneasy, trying to stay as far from the arguing as possible. Ariella closed the distance and got up into Vilkas' face.  

              "Well if you think you're going to be in charge over _my_ job, you can shove it up--"  

           "Arie! Maybe it is a good idea to stop in Riverwood. We are almost out of health potions and it would give me the chance to buy some ingredients to make some more, and maybe a book to read while we're in the barrow?" Rin stepped in, trying to settle things before a fight broke out. Ariella huffed and crossed her arms before mumbling a 'fine', and stomped on off towards Riverwood.  

              Once they arrived at the Riverwood Trader, they were immediately welcomed with more arguing; this time, the owner and his sister were the ones at it. Though Ariella bluntly ignored what they were saying, apparently she was the only one. Vilkas insisted on helping them with their problem, bandits broke in and stole a golden claw, and just so happened to be hiding out in Bleak Falls Barrow. Ariella didn't care, she needed to be in the barrow. It called to her, and she needed to go. She hadn't mentioned this feeling to anyone, not even Rin.  

              They were about to leave when the owner's sister, Camilla, insisted on showing them the way towards the barrow, but only to the bridge at the edge of town. Ariella didn't like her, she saw how she looked at the twins. Something in her clawed at her, itching for a fight, an urge she didn't understand. _Am I going crazy,_ she asked herself, no answers came to her.  

              The hike up to the Barrow was long. They had to stop twice, once to deal with a couple wolves, and again to take out several bandits who had taken up residence in an abandoned tower. Lucky for the group, the bandits had several potions and almost forty septims in a chest at the top of the tower.  

              The further up they hiked, the colder and snowier it got. Ariella started to rethink this Dragonstone idea, but knew it was too late to turn back. As they approached the barrow, two arrows whizzed past the group. Ariella and Rin ducked and hid behind a stone pillar, Ariella peaked out with her bow equipped as she watched Vilkas and Farkas charge at a bandit running towards them. Ariella scanned the walls until she saw an archer aiming at one of the boys, she shot and killed him before he had a chance to unleash his arrow. She helped pick off the rest of the bandits she saw, until they all lied dead in the snow. The wind began to pick up as the group recollected.            

              "Let's get inside before a storm brews, it'll be warmer and safer inside," Vilkas instructed, nobody argued with that.  

              After entering the barrow, Ariella immediately dropped to a crouch, and held a hand out for them to wait. She crawled slowly towards a higher platform to see better. Two bandits were ahead, too busy talking to notice her nock an arrow.  

              "What are you _doing_? Sneaking around isn't how the Companions do things!" Vilkas snapped at her from right behind her, Ariella prayed the bandits didn't hear him.  

          "What was that?"  

                  _Damn..._

              Ariella released an arrow that missed a bandit by inches, the bandits whizzed around and detected Vilkas standing over her. One bandit charged, the other pulled out a bow. Ariella took her opportunity to shoot down the bandit with the bow, and by the time she turned, Vilkas had already killed the second bandit. She glared her usual glare at him and kept walking, emptying the pockets of the bandits of anything interesting or possibly useful.  

              One thing anyone neglected to tell her about Nordic ruins were how dusty they were. Countless times, Ariella had to brush cobwebs off her arms and remind herself to watch her step as she stepped carefully over countless vines. The halls were littered with skeever bodies, killed by something unknown.  

              She fought the urge to ask if this was worth it, somehow she felt it was. Ariella would empty every burial urn she came upon, collecting the gold and the gems. They came across a set of shelves, filled with linen wraps and embalming tools, one had a potion that Ariella tossed to Rin to keep. They continued through the halls until Ariella crouched again, luckily she was further ahead of Vilkas and Farkas, who were too curious about the mysterious dead skeevers.  She spotted a bandit ahead in a large room, down a set of stairs, and quickly pulled out her bow and nocked an arrow. She released it just as Vilkas and Farkas had caught up, hitting the bandit in the back of the neck and killing him. Ariella smirked and looked back to raise a brow at Vilkas, attempting to brag.  

              They entered the room and noticed the big closed gate on the far end of the room, a lever just in front of it. Vilkas sauntered up to the lever and was about to pull it when Rin stopped him.  

              "Wait!" Everyone turned to look at Rin, surprised by the unusual loudness in her cry, "It's a dart trap, look, there's the holes where they shoot out. I think we need to solve the puzzle before it is safe to open."  

              While the twins and Rin were solving the puzzle, Ariella went up the stairs nearby and found another potion on a different shelf. She pocketed it and leapt down as Rin and the twins figured out the puzzle and had the gate open. The next room had a chest and table, the chest had a bit of gold and lockpicks, and the table had another potion and a book, which Ariella gave to Rin. There was a small unfilled soul gem laying in an old torch holder, which Rin grabbed up curiously. Three skeevers raced up a flight of rickety wooden steps, Vilkas and Farkas made little work of them. Ariella tested the steps before making her way down, making sure they wouldn't fall out from under her. They came down to another room with a paralysis poison and a fireball scroll sitting on a cobweb covered table. Ariella had never seen so many cobwebs in her life, she was sure of it.  

              "Are you just going to pocket every single thing you find? Or are you going to leave nothing for the nord dead?" Vilkas questioned Ariella, earning a glare.  

         "There is no use for scrolls and gold for the dead," Ariella spit at him.  

              "So you leave them with nothing but disrespect?" He persists, only making Ariella angry.  

          "What the hell is your problem? If I'd have known you were only coming along to be a thorn in my ass, I would have come alone!"  

                "If you had come alone, you would be **dead**!"

           "At least I wouldn't have to hear you nag me while I died!"  

  They were one step away from a fist fight when Ariella heard a voice from a room ahead, calling for help. She glanced around and narrowed her eyes on the upcoming hallway, and snuck along, ignoring Vilkas' continued insults.  

              "Is... Is someone coming? Is that you Harknir? Bjorn? Soling? I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!" She heard a desperate call from a room ahead, one blocked off by spider webs covering the door. She pulled out a dagger and quickly sliced through the webs, opening the way to a room that was filled with webs, bones and dead bodies. She immediately grabbed for her bow as she entered the room, and saw a man trapped in another doorway, sewn in by spider webs. By the time the giant spider dropped down from its lair in the ceiling, it was too late for Ariella to run. She fumbled for her dagger while Vilkas ran in with his great sword drawn. Together they made short work of the spider, and turned their attention to the man.  

              "You did it! You killed it. Now cut me down before anything else shows up!" the Dunmer man begged.  

           "Where's the golden claw, thief?" Vilkas jabbed at the man, poking him in the chest while he hung helplessly in the webs.  

              "Yes, yes, the claw. I know how it works! The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there," The man began to ramble on. Ariella didn't trust him, just as she didn't trust Camilla. Something in her growled in protest as she watched Vilkas tug and cut on the webs, helping the man down. Once cut down, the man turned on them.  

              "You fools! Why would I share the treasure with anyone?" He turned and ran down the halls behind him. He did expect for them to chase him, but he didn't expect how fast Ariella had raced just behind him. She turned on like a switch and bounded after him, he wasn't going to get away. She heard Vilkas yell after her, but she was set on catching this man. She chased him into another room, a burial crypt, when she noticed his eyes were darting around in fear, but not fear of her.  

              It took Ariella a minute to notice the corpses springing to life around her. She sank to the floor, horrified of these creatures that were just moments ago, laying peacefully in their stone tombs. She wasn't sure how to react, she just sat there, frozen, watching them slay the man she had just been chasing moments before. They killed him quickly, and turned to come after her. She panicked and grabbed at her dagger sheath, which no longer held her dagger.   _I must have dropped it when I ran,_ Ariella thought to herself in fear. Farkas came leaping in, Vilkas close behind, and the two took down these new beasts with ease. Rin appeared next to Ariella, trying to comfort her.  

              "W..What were those things..?" Ariella stuttered out, stumbling to get up, even with Rin's assistance.  

              "Those 'things'," Vilkas says while kicking one, "Are draugr. They are what guard Nordic ruins such as this one."  

              Ariella didn't like the thought of seeing more of those draugr, she rubbed her arms sheepishly, embarrassed of her fear.  

              "Next time, don't run off, and you won't have a problem," Vilkas ordered, he got no argument in return. Vilkas reached down to where the Dunmer man was, and searched through his things until he found a large golden claw. He put it in a knapsack, and they continued through the ruins, avoiding traps and looting everything they could find. They came to another section of the barrow, filled with even more traps, cobwebs and overgrown vines.  

 

              It was about an hour until they came into the Hall of Stories. Rin poured over each one, utterly fascinated by the Nordic stories. Ariella and Vilkas went to the end of the hall and tried to figure out the large stone door, with three stone panels and some sort of keyhole, while Farkas and Rin looked at each picture on the walls.  

              "I don't get it. It has to be another puzzle but there's nothing here that could tell us how to solve it," Ariella complained. She punched a wall, she heard the calls louder now. Whatever laid on the other side of this door was what had pulled her to the barrow in the first place. Rin walked over to the door and gazed at it for a minute.  

              "Vilkas? May I see the claw please?" She asked, running a hand lightly along the door, and turning to reach out for the claw. Vilkas looked confused, but gave her the claw without argument. Rin gazed at the claw, and lightly pushed each rotating panel on the door, and placed the claw into the keyhole.  The door began to open, and Rin turned to give everyone a beaming smile.  

              "How did you figure it out?" Vilkas asked, impressed by how fast she figured it out.  

              "The key hole looked like the claw would fit. And there are pictures on the bottom of the claw that matched up with the doors panels, and I just put two and two together just to see if it would work, and it did," Rin continued to beam at everyone.         

              The door led to a staircase, Ariella stormed through first. She stopped at the top of the stairs, while everyone caught up. They were now in a large open chamber, water running through and bats scurrying away from the people who had now entered their home. _This is it_ , Ariella told herself. She stared ahead at a large curved wall, entranced by it. She heard the voices, calling for her, she grew restless inside as she stalked towards it. Vilkas, Rin and Farkas were too busy looking at everything around the chamber to notice Ariella walking through the chamber as if she was hypnotized.  

              Ariella thought she heard Rin's voice behind her, but she could not take her eyes off this wall, which she saw was now glowing when she got closer. The voices kept chanting, over and over, the same ones she had been hearing so quietly in her head all this time, drawing her in.  

              She walked up to the wall, which was in another language she did not know, when she felt the power drawn towards her. It hit her with more force than she could ever compare to. She was thrown to the ground while this power, a word, had flown into her, like a soul filling a soul gem.  

_Fus.._

              She could feel her energy drain, she couldn't fight the power that had pinned her down, and she knew she couldn't stay conscious much longer. Ariella heard Rin scream what she thought was her name, when she saw a nearby coffin pop open and a large draugr begin to climb out. But she just..  

 

              couldn't..  

  

                                stay awake..  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm going to try to post something everyday, but I work every day through Friday this week, so I'll try to keep updated! I may even be posting something later today, if I get off work early (which I most likely will). This is by far the longest chapter so far, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you all so much for your feedback, I love getting comments and kudos' so thank you for everything! Things will be heating up in the next couple chapters so keep on reading!


	6. You are Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group hikes back to Whiterun, running into more trouble on the way.

                Ariella started to wake up, she wasn't sure how long she had been out, or if she was still in the barrow or not. Her body ached, still pained from earlier. When she opened her eyes, she first noticed a fire crackling. Her eyes adjusted to the surrounding darkness, seeing she was still in the barrow. Someone had moved her into her bedroll, and they made camp while she was out. She tried to push herself up into a sitting position, her head throbbed as she got up.               

                "You're finally awake," she heard a few feet away. She glanced over to see Vilkas sitting across the fire, keeping watch. She glanced on the opposite side of the fire, she saw Farkas and Rin sleeping, Farkas closer to Vilkas, and Rin closer to her.

                "What happened?" Ariella strained to ask, her throat felt dry and words seemed to tear at it.

                    "I was hoping you could tell me. One minute you were just fine, the next, Rin saw you collapse to the ground, that's when that big draugr came out. It seemed to ignore you, it put up quite a fight for Farkas and me. By the time we took it down, you were out cold," he explained to her, rummaging through his bag and tossing her a bottle of mead.

                "I.. I don't know what happened.. The wall, it was.. Calling me? And then it hit me. It was like nothing I have ever felt before. How long was I out for?" Ariella looked at him, she had hoped for more answers. She opened the mead and drank it quickly, waiting for his answer.

                    "Well, you were out for about four hours."

                "Four hours?!" Ariella gaped at him, shocked.

                    "Yeah, Rin was so worried about you. She tried a healing potion, healing spells, nothing would wake you. Farkas and I tried to calm her down, but it took a couple bottles of mead to get her to fall asleep. We have your stone, practically had to pry it out of the draugr's hands," Vilkas smirked to himself.

                Ariella sat in thought, she had no answers and questions seemed to keep piling up. She didn't understand how this all was adding up, and it made her feel worse and worse. She felt Vilkas' gaze on her, but she was too frustrated to meet it.

                "Are you tired?" She asked him quietly.

                    "A little bit, but I'll be fine. You should get some more rest. You'll need your strength for when we go back home," Vilkas insisted.

                Strangely, Ariella didn't feel like arguing. She felt exhausted, and she knew he was right. She nodded at him, acknowledging what he said before laying back down. She laid on the bedroll for a while before sleep overcame her.

 

 

                Rin nudged Ariella awake a few hours later, Ariella jumped awake. She had been dreaming, though she already forgot what it was about. Ariella repacked her bedroll and things, Rin and the boys had already repacked their things by the time she was up.

                "I found an exit, just up there, but it leads to a ledge where we have to jump. It's either that or go back," Rin informed her.

                    "Let's just keep going forward," Ariella said plainly, ready to be out of the ruins.

                The path Rin found led to the mountainside, where they all carefully climbed down the rocks. The hike back to Whiterun was boring, it was about noon when they had started back.  Ariella was relieved when she saw Dragonsreach in the distance, the closer they got, the more excited she felt. That was until she saw Irileth and several guards racing down the road.

                "You there, elf. You said you were at Helgen, correct?" Irileth asked, trying get her answer quickly.

                    "Yes, my sister and I were, why do you ask?" Ariella answers, eyes narrowing at the dark elf housecarl.

                "Good, we'll need all the help we can get. A dragon is attacking the Western watchtower," with that, Irileth and the guards jogged off towards the tower. For a second, Ariella heard Vilkas and Farkas discussing whether to go fetch the rest of the Companions or if they hadn't the time before the dragon made those guards it's next meal. But Ariella tuned them out, and Rin knew it when she saw Ariella jog after Irileth, bow out and ready to strike. Vilkas called after her, he damned her bullheadedness, but he knew he used to be the same way. They didn't seem to have much choice but to go after her.

                When Ariella and Irileth approached the watchtower, it was a wreck. Fire still burned the flags on the outside, and smoke poured out of the tower. There was no dragon, but there was enough signs there to know it hadn't been gone long. Irileth commanded her guardsmen to search for survivors, Ariella decided to take a peek inside the tower, to see if there was anything left. As soon as she stepped in, she noticed three guardsmen, one was injured on the floor, one tending the first guards wounds, and one who was shaking like a leaf.

                "Get back, the dragon is still out there! It grabbed a couple of our men when they tried to make a run for it!" One of the guards said, his voice quivered in fear. Right on cue, Ariella heard a distant roar, she knew it was beginning to come back. Back outside the tower, Vilkas, Farkas and Rin caught up to the guards. Rin ran to Ariella, who directed her in to the injured guards inside. The guards ran around like frantic ants as the dragon soared overhead. It blew fire out of its mouth like breath, and Ariella swore she heard him speak as he ignited the surrounding fields. Ariella stared at the beast, it wasn't the same dragon as the one in Helgen. She released her first arrow, missing his body completely. The guards all tried to shoot the dragon down, some hitting him, some missing.

                "Thuri du hin sil ko Sovngarde!" The dragon spoke as he flew in midair, and breathed more fire along the surrounding fields.  _He's trapping us in,_ Ariella thought to herself, _if this doesn't end soon, we won't have anywhere to run._

                Vilkas and Farkas kept chasing the dragon, they had no bows, and were terrible at aiming anyways, they waited and hoped he would land. Ariella kept releasing arrow after arrow, now she knew how fast this dragon moved, she knew exactly when to release it so the arrow would hit him in the wings or in the chest.

                It wasn't long until the dragon took notice of the lone archer out alone in the fields. She was a thorn in his wings, and would hit him countless times with her arrows. He swung down and landed in front of her, the force of his landing was enough to knock her to the ground. 

                "You are brave. Bahlaan hokoron!" The dragon spoke to Ariella as he bounded towards her. She had been knocked to her feet, and didn't have the time to pull herself up.  She crawled backwards as the dragon got closer and closer, she could see the fiery glint in his eyes. He lifted his head up, jaw opening wide, ready to tear her apart with his razor sharp teeth.

                Vilkas and Farkas ran underneath and slashed at the dragon, who now focused on them. With the twins distracting him and the guards unleashing arrows at the dragon, he turned away from Ariella, she was close to him, under his left wing. Ariella noticed the soft spot between his wing and body, and took opportunity of his distraction and stabbed him as hard as she could with her dagger. The dragon reared up in pain, getting dozens of arrows to the soft part of his stomach, and he screamed. He screamed in the language that wall in the barrow had spoken, Ariella was sure of it.

                " _Dovahkiin,_ noooo!"

                He fell to the ground, unmoving. Everyone stood, weapons ready, up until the dragon's corpse burnt into thin air, leaving nothing but bones. But something was off, if only it seemed so to Ariella.

                The same force that had bore down on her at the barrow had torn her down again, this time it was knowledge, memories, the dragon's soul, that had thrown itself into her. It didn't quite knock her down, but it pushed her back while it flowed into her in every direction. That was the moment Ariella had realized her whole life was about to change, and likely not for the better. Everyone began to crowd around her in the bones in awe, when she heard the one word that made her feel like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.

                                _"Dragonborn.."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a little bit short, I didn't have much time to work on it before work, and when I got home my brother wouldn't let me use the computer for 3 hours. Hope you enjoy!


	7. Riften, Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella is shocked to learn that she is the Dragonborn. She fears for how it affects her sister, Rin. The companions try to comfort her, even through the beginning of her nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: rape recovery, nightmares, ptsd

                The world seemed to be spinning too fast around Ariella as she stood, staring down blankly at the dragon's bones, not hearing a thing going on around her. She didn't know how or when,  but she realized she had fallen to her knees. It was all over for her and Rin. Ariella knew that a title like Dragonborn was bound to raise a lot of attention, which was exactly what they hadn't wanted. She was a danger to Rin, she knew that he would come for them, to reclaim his lost slaves.

                She heard the dragon speak to her from inside her head, he was called Mirmulnir, he told her. He spoke to her in the tongue of dragons, words she did not understand. But Ariella couldn't pay attention to him, she was still trying to comprehend what had happened. She didn't realize that Farkas and Vilkas had her arms wrapped around them both, supporting her while they drug her up to Whiterun, she was completely limp, too zoned out of the situation.

 

                Rin was afraid for her sister. She saw how close that dragon had landed to Ariella, she was sure Ariella was going to be killed. She saw how desperately the twins ran to help, but she was ultimately too far for Rin to tell. All she could do was stand back and watch as the dragon reared up onto its hind legs, being shot down by a storm of arrows. That was when things got weird. The dragon's body burnt into flames, and it's soul was being sucked away, like it was traveling into a soul gem. Rin was running up to the scene when she saw it was traveling into her sister.

                Rin ran to her sister, who was on her knees in a deep state of shock. She called out her name and lightly tapped her face, but it was like Ariella wasn't even there. The guards were too busy talking about Ariella being the 'Dragonborn', but hadn't moved to see if she was alright. Ariella didn't move, didn't speak, she hardly even breathed. Vilkas and Farkas picked her up and drug her on up to Whiterun, going straight to the Jarl. Rin followed behind closely, unsure of how to handle everything that was happening. Her sister was still in shock when they carried her through the doors of Dragonsreach, leaving Rin to answer the swarm of questions Jarl Balgruuf had.

                "What happened? Did you see the dragon? Is it dead? What of the Dragonstone?" Jarl Balgruuf shot question after question at Rin, causing her to become more and more nervous.

                   "Well, umm.. We have the Dragonstone.. We were just arriving when Irileth saw us.. Ariella went to fight the dragon, and I don't really know what happened.. It's dead now, but she.." Rin stuttered her words, not meeting the Jarl's intense gaze.

                "Dragonborn," came Ariella's quiet voice behind her, she had been set on a chair by the twins, who stayed by her side to watch over her. Her eyes were empty and did not move, just blinked slowly as she took slow breaths in.

                    "W-what? Dragonborn? What is this about?" Balgruuf said, grabbing Rin's arm and pulling her closer. Farkas growled and was at Rin's side in an instant, standing protectively next to her. Balgruuf took his hand off of Rin, who shook where she stood.

                "Sh-she.. She absorbed it's soul when it had died... Like a soul trap spell.. That's when we found her like.. Like this, like she's not even there," Rin's eyes welled with tears after she choked out her words. The dragon fight was terrifying, but the thought of living without her sister killed her.

                    "So she is Dragonborn..." The Jarl pondered to himself for several minutes, "Take her to Danica at the temple. Have your sister come to me once she is better."

                Rin nodded before she scurried away into Farengar's room, where she found him and a mysterious woman, poured over his table filled with books and a large map.

                   "F-Farengar.. This is for you," Rin said, holding out her shaking hands with the Dragonstone.

                "Ahh! The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow. I have been wondering when you and that sister of yours would be returning with it," Farengar eagerly snatched it out of Rin's hands.

                    "You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work," the mysterious woman complimented Rin, though Rin could not see her face underneath the dark hood. Rin gave her a nod, and scurried back out, back to the safety of the twins.

                "We should take her to Danica, as the Jarl suggested. But someone should go and tell Kodlak what is going on," Vilkas suggested.

                Rin clung to her sister's side, "I am not going _anywhere_ without her."

                Vilkas knew Farkas wouldn't leave Rin unattended, "I will go, let's just hurry.'

 

               

                Danica assured the companions that the young girl would be fine. Such a state is normal in traumatic events, and suggested to Rin that rubbing oils infused with lavender on Ariella's chest and arms will help relieve some of the stress, and gave Rin a small vial of oil. Rin did exactly as Danica instructed, and sat by Ariella's side and rubbed oils on her, over and over, while Ariella stared blankly ahead. Farkas would sit by Rin for a short time, leave, and return to her side every so often. He brought her some dinner Tilma had cooked, but Rin wouldn't eat very much. Vilkas came in once and  offered some comforting words to Rin, and assured her that if she needed anything, he'd be there to help. But Rin would only sit there, with Ariella in her arms, waiting as the hours passed by. Eventually, Ariella had fallen asleep, drifting out of her state of shock. Rin laid in the bed across from her, sleeping lightly in case Ariella woke up.

 

 

                _Everything was in distorted colors. Ariella pushed through the shadows, and leapt through the flames until she realized she was in Helgen. Corpses covered the ground, corpses of Stormcloaks and Imperials alike. She wandered the town, wondering how she got there. Everything was so unnaturally dark, even for night, Ariella thought. That's when she noticed the approaching shadow. Like a giant pitch black cloud, it came closer and closer. A growl came from this shadow, and she couldn't turn to run or even move her eyes away. She was stuck until the shadow swallowed her up, helpless. She noticed the peering red eyes in front of her, staring her down. Fear shot through her spine as she watched the big black dragon open it's jaws and unleash flaming hell._

                Ariella woke up screaming for her life. She tossed and turned in the bed, but she couldn't force her eyes to open, she heard Rin, screaming next to her to wake up. Her screaming was replaced by crying, as she opened her eyes to see Rin next to her bedside, staring at her with an intense worry. Ariella reached out to touch her face, to see if she was real, and turned and noticed the rest of the Companion's in the doorway, weapons unsheathed. They had all come running when they heard her screaming, ready to protect their new shield-sister, and were all disappointed to see it was only a nightmare that had wrapped its way into her head. Her eyes lingered on each and every person who was there, Farkas, Vilkas, Aela, Skjor, Athis..   _Even Kodlak is here_ , she thought to herself, her gaze falling to the floor.

                "Alright everybody, get back to bed, there's nothing to see here," Kodlak told everyone as he moved to Ariella's bedside, "Why don't you come with me, child?" There was such tenderness in his voice, he was trying to make her feel safe, she realized.

                Ariella rolled out of bed and pulled Rin to her feet, pulling her into a long loving embrace. Ariella pulled away, her hand tracing down Rin's arm and off her hand as she turned to follow Kodlak to his study. He was sitting at his desk in the corner of the room, waiting for her.

                "Go ahead and close the door, dear," Kodlak suggested, pouring her a goblet of water. Ariella did as he asked, and came and sat next to him, gratefully accepting the water. "How are you feeling, girl? Are you doing alright?"

                Ariella sat and stared into the water, staring back at her reflection. She looked different, older even, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what made her feel that way.

                "I... I don't know.. The last thing I remember was the dragon dying and then.. Nothing.." Ariella frowned, she didn't have any good answers for him.

                    "Ah, well, your sister hardly left your side. She said she didn't know what happened, but she mentioned the guards called you Dragonborn?" Kodlak asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. Ariella frowned to herself, she remembered hearing that word.

                "I, I think I absorbed it's soul.. It was like nothing I had ever felt before.. I don't even know what a Dragonborn is.." Ariella thought about her sister, she wondered how she was taking it.

                    "A Dragonborn is a person who can take the souls of dragons, permanently killing them. The last Dragonborn that we know of was Tiber Septim. It is alright not to remember what happened. It will all come to you in due time. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright, you were in a state of shock six hours before you fell asleep."

                Ariella turned to stare at Kodlak with wide eyes. _Six hours?!_  Ariella remembered nothing of the past six hours, and it had all only felt like it had been five minutes. She didn't understand what was going on, but only knew she had to get as far away as she could, for Rin's protection.

                "Go and get some sleep, young one. We can talk more in the morning," Kodlak told her, she could tell he was trying to be as understanding as possible. She nodded and walked back to the bedchambers and fell back to sleep.

 

                Ariella had already begun to notice everyone treating her differently. Rin hovered over her protectively, she would bring her food and water constantly, trying to help Ariella regain her strength. Even Farkas would ask several times before taking the hint, seeing if she needed anything, if there was anything he could do for her. There wasn't. Ariella even noticed Vilkas was acting differently, even softer, kinder. He didn't try to coddle her, but he would make sure she wasn't pushed too hard during training, or being bothered too much by random citizens who came to awe in her presence, now that she was considered Dragonborn.

                And every night went the same way. Ariella would wake up screaming after having a dragon related dream, and everyone would be in the bedroom, ready to defend her. She felt an overwhelming guilt for waking everyone up every night, and the more it happened, the less she wanted to sleep. Ariella felt everything was crumpling apart, especially after an argument with Rin.

                "You're not leaving me here!" Rin said firmly to her sister, crossing her arms and staring down at Ariella.

                    "Rin, you're not safe with me around.. If he catches wind of this, he'll come find me, it's safer for you if I leave," Ariella tried to defend herself quietly, she knew she couldn't endanger Rin like that.

                "Then let him come! He'll have to go through all the Companions before he gets to us! You know that," Rin was set on staying together, nothing Ariella could say would convince her otherwise.

                    "He won't have a hard time going through the Companions if I keep them up with my screaming every night!"  Ariella snapped at her, Rin grew very quiet.

                "I just don't feel safe without you here... I would be so worried about you all the time, I.. I don't know what I'd do.." Rin whispered, barely loud enough for Ariella to hear. Ariella pulled Rin into an embrace, and that was the end of their discussion.

                Ariella didn't want to think back much on it, but it still bothered her to endanger Rin and be inconvenient to the Companions. One night, she decided that it wasn't worth it, sleeping for a few hours and waking everyone up. She walked up into the mead hall, it was about midnight, and everyone had just started to fall asleep. She thought she was alone, until she heard someone call from the other side of the room.

                "Are you not going to sleep?"

                Ariella turned to see Vilkas, laying in a large sofa chair, reading a book.

                    "No.. It's not worth taking everyone else's sleep away.." Ariella frowned as she opened a bottle of mead and sat in a chair facing away from Vilkas, staring at the fire. They were silent for a few minutes, as Ariella downed her bottle of mead.

                "Do you like to read?" Vilkas asked her, Ariella was surprised to hear him ask.

                    "A bit.. It's been a while, and I was only taught a little bit of reading.." Ariella frowned again, but turned to see Vilkas sit up.

                "I have more books over here if you're interested," He lightly smiled at her, patting a seat next to him. She narrowed her eyes on him inquisitively, and decided to take a chance and sat next to him. He handed her three books to choose from, Aedra and Daedra, The Amulet of Kings, and Great Harbingers.  She took the Great Harbingers book, _May as well learn something about these Companions._  

                They both read quietly by each other when Ariella realized how close they were. The chair was big enough to fit both of them, but it didn't give them much room to sit away from each other. Ariella's body was pressed into the side of his, but it felt almost comfortable. Vilkas radiated warmth, and he had this arousing musky scent. She was sure she had never been so close to him, besides for their arguments.

                Ariella shook her thoughts away and turned back to her book, she was still on the very first two pages. She came to a word she didn't recognize, and sheepishly nudged Vilkas.

                "Vilkas..?"

                   "Yes, new blood?" He didn't look up from his book when she asked for him.

                "Umm.. What's this word?" She asked, her cheeks turning bright red. Her master had only taught her a little bit of reading, to her disadvantage, and she never got to practice enough on her on to get better. Vilkas met her gaze, and glanced down to the word she had pointed at.

                    "Hierarchy," he answered with another small smile, before turning back to his book. _He's probably laughing at me,_ Ariella thought to herself. She sighed and stared back down at the book. She continued on until she found another word she could not read. She sighed again, feeling self conscious about this.

                "Vilkas..?"

                   "Yes, new blood?" He answered again, this time he looked up and met her gaze. She could feel the blush creeping back up onto her face.

                "Uhm.." Ariella stammered as her and Vilkas kept eye contact, she could feel her nerves growing and couldn't pinpoint why she was suddenly so nervous.

                    "Yes, Ariella?" He asked again, she watched as his lips moved. She shook her head again, bringing her thoughts back down to Nirn.

                "What is this word?" She asked again, pointing at a different word. Vilkas peered back down to the book.

                    "Conquest," He answered again, turning back to his book. Ariella didn't want to read anymore, afraid that she'd come across more strange words, and she didn't want to ask him again. She glanced over to his book, and became curious.

                "Vilkas..?"  He turned to meet her gaze, gazing back softly at her. He smiled and raised a brow, Ariella felt her heart flutter, "What book are you reading?"

                He raised the book to show the title, The Totems of Hircine. Ariella nodded, even though she had no idea what the book was about. She decided to stop talking and pretend to read her book. A few minutes passed before Vilkas spoke up.

                "Why did you and your sister come to Skyrim?" Vilkas asked without even looking up. Ariella felt someone here would ask that question, someone besides Kodlak. She just wasn't sure when.

                    "Well.. Rin and I.. We were slaves," Ariella said slowly, carefully. This caught Vilkas' attention, he closed his book and gave her his full attention. "We grew up as slaves. Rin was just an apothecary to our master, and I was trained to protect our master, and kill anyone who tried to rival him.. He didn't think anyone would expect any skill from a little bosmer girl, he thought it was very tactical to have someone who would kill when ordered to, but come off as innocent and harmless.."

                "And after that?" Vilkas asked, gazing intently at her.

                    "He... He was a terrible man. He was abusive and mistreated all of his slaves. The women especially. He would let his mercenaries touch the women, and if anyone fought back, we were whipped, and even killed.. And since I was so close at hand to him at all times.." Ariella choked back for a minute, "Let's just say I know firsthand at how bad of a man he was.. And overtime, Rin started to grow up. She was lucky, tucked away with another apothecary she apprenticed under, who was a much older woman. No men ever got to see her, so she was safe from all the harm he caused to the rest of us. But one day, she.. She was delivering some herbs to him, her trainer was too weak to deliver them herself so she sent Rin.. I saw the way he looked at her, and I knew. Rin couldn't stay there, I couldn't let her have that same fate.. She was already so anxious around people, that would just crush her.."

                Ariella stopped for a minute to take a deep breath in, "That night we hatched a plan. I had Rin make a potion with blisterwort, canis root and a spider egg. It was a strong potion that would make him sleep, and I put it in his alcohol when he didn't notice. We made a run for it, leaving everything behind. We ran for almost a year before we came to Skyrim. He had been tracking us, and made it clear he wasn't going to give up the hunt for us. When he found a woman he liked, he had her, no matter how many people he had to kill... I had to protect Rin.. That's why I want to leave.."

                Ariella felt a tears fall down her cheeks, she hated thinking of what could happen. Vilkas wrapped his arms around her as she began to cry. Despite being such a hard headed man sometimes, he would be so kind to her. He comforted her by rubbing his hand along her back, and held her close. She clung to his chest, sniffling and trying to stop all the tears. They laid there, Ariella cradled into his body, for a very long time. Vilkas continued to hold her even after she stopped crying, up until they both fell fast asleep.

 

                                That was the first night Ariella didn't have a nightmare.

 

                A couple days had past, both days Vilkas and Ariella would continue their nightly ritual of reading and falling asleep next to the other. They began to talk more about things, Vilkas had told her that him and Farkas had been there since they were children, and Ariella told her about her fear of endangering Rin.  Ariella began to feel completely comfortable around Vilkas, something she never would have imagined. Rin would poke fun at her about it, the same way Ariella had poked fun about her and Farkas.  But Ariella knew things wouldn't work out the same.

                One night, Ariella had waited until Vilkas had fallen asleep next to her. She carefully snuck away, with extreme caution not to wake him. She had already gotten her things packed in secret, she snatched them and silently slid out the door, without a single goodbye. It was late in the night, the only ones out were the guards, who nodded at her while she hurried along the road, and out the Whiterun gate. She felt her adrenaline rush the further she got, she was afraid someone would wake up and come chasing after her.

                She didn't stop scampering until she came up to a carriage, the driver asleep on the front. She patted his leg until he woke up, and stared at her with a confused look.

                "What kind of traveler wants to leave in the dead of the night?" He asks Ariella, giving her a strange look.

                    "One who does not wish to be seen. Please, I have extra gold, I need to leave now. And I will pay extra for you not to tell anyone where you take me," Ariella pleaded, pulling up her hood to cover her head. The carriage driver sighed, and readjusted himself.

                "Alright, hop on back. Where would you like to go?" He asked.

                    Ariella thought for a moment and handed him a bag of a hundred septims, "Riften, please."


	8. I Have A Proposition For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella makes it to Riften when she meets a man who offers her a proposition. Rin begins training in the Companions.

                Rin woke early in the morning when she felt something was wrong. Ariella wasn't in bed, which didn't surprise her, since they found Vilkas and her cuddled up on a couch every morning, fast asleep with books sprawled over them.

                It puzzled Rin, she knew Ariella couldn't read very well, and she knew Ariella had a distaste for Vilkas. It didn't make sense why Ariella would so suddenly become so close to him. But when Rin noticed that Vilkas laid on the couch alone, that's when Rin began to panic. She ran to Vilkas' side and shook him until he woke.

                "..Rin? What's going..?" He looked at her confused and sleepily.

                    "Where is my sister?" Rin looked at him, her eyes filled with panic.

                "Ariella? She's.." Vilkas looked down and noticed that Ariella was no longer there with him. He sat up quickly and glanced around, she was nowhere to be seen. Rin ran out the back doors, Vilkas following closely behind, but Ariella wasn't there either. It was barely getting light out, there was nowhere Arie could go that could possibly be open. Rin walked back inside with Vilkas when Farkas came trudging up the stairs.

                    "What's going on..? I heard all the noise, is something wrong?" Farkas asked, rubbing his eyes awake.

                "Ariella's gone," Vilkas answered, propping up against the large table. He knew Ariella spoke of leaving, but without saying a single goodbye? 

                Rin ran for the front doors, but didn't make it down the steps before Farkas caught her and pulled her back into his arms. She sobbed quietly into his chest, Rin had thought that maybe, just maybe, if she ran fast enough, she could catch Arie before she made it too far. Farkas didn't know the words to comfort her, but he didn't believe Ariella would be gone for good.

                "She'll be back, Rin. She'll be back before you know it."

 

___________________________________________________________

 

                The carriage ride was long and tiring, but she felt it all was worth it. It was almost midday when they reached Riften, Ariella must have thanked Bjorlim, the carriage driver, a dozen times. When he dropped her off, she gazed around. The Rift was a very beautiful hold, filled with trees and wildlife. Ariella approached the city gates when a guard stopped her.

                "Hold there, before I let you into Riften, you need to pay the visitor's tax," the guard said, blocking her way in.

                    "What's the tax for?" Ariella said, her eyes narrowed on the guard. This seemed fishy.

                "For the privilege of entering the city," The guard huffed, folding his arms while he stared down Ariella.

                    "This is obviously a shakedown. Let me in," Ariella glared up at the man, she wasn't about to pay some made up toll.

                "Alright, alright, just keep your voice down. Here, I'll let you in," the guard turned and unlocked the gate, Ariella pushed past him and made her way in.

                Riften was a lot different than Whiterun. It was beautiful to her, for a little fishing town. Ariella walked towards what she thought was a market, a nord man was staring her down.

                    "I don't know you. You in Riften lookin' for trouble?"

                Ariella rolled her eyes and kept walking. _Look at me, making friends already._

                    "You can pretend not to hear me all you want... But you better stay out of the Black-Briars' business," the man called after her, she just ignored him again. She didn't know who the Black-Briars were, and frankly she didn't really care.

                The market was quite busy, vendors were all shouting and selling their goods. One vendor came to Ariella's particular attention. A handsome nord man with long red hair was shouting about something called 'Falmer Blood Elixir'. He felt Ariella's gaze and traced it back to her, giving her a devilish smirk that made her heart stop. She turned away quickly, but she could feel his gaze lingering on her.

                Ariella spent the rest of her day exploring Riften, learning all the stores and homes. She introduced herself to a couple people who were friendly, and they directed her to the local inn, the Bee and Barb. She bought herself a room for the night and a dinner for herself to eat up in her room. Ariella wanted to plan out what she was going to do, she didn't notice that someone was following her up to her room. She had sat down her food and her mead when the door flung open, the red haired nord man walked in. Ariella pulled a dagger quickly, and stood ready to fight.

                "Now, now lass. No need for that," The man said, raising his hands into the air to show he had no weapon.

                    "Who are you..? And why are you in here?" She stared him down, keeping her dagger ready.

                "My name is Brynjolf, and I have a proposition for you.."

 

 

 

                After Ariella had left, Rin was stuck by herself in the Companions. She didn't know how to earn her living, and had little choice but to learn how to use a blade. Farkas quickly took her under his wing, teaching her how to fight, starting with a little dagger. Rin caught on fast, after spending so long watching her sister. She would spend some time down with Danica, working on her restoration magic.

                Many weeks had passed since Ariella left, and Rin felt overwhelmingly lonely. She had Farkas, but it wasn't the same. Everyone had tried to be nice to Rin, even Njada. She did everything to keep Ariella off her mind. Vilkas began to give Rin contracts to keep her distracted, sending her out to exterminate animals and recover stolen items. Rin was able to handle jobs easily on her own after some time, when Kodlak felt like it was time to test her. He called for her down to his study, to see if she wanted to take the next steps. Rin walked up to the doors and knocked.

                "Oh, Rin, there you are! Come in, come in!" Kodlak motioned for an open chair, setting down a book he was reading.

                    "What did you need, Harbinger..?" Rin asked, folding her arms nervously. She wasn't sure why Kodlak had called for her, she didn't think she had done anything wrong, and had completed all her contracts without messing up.

                "No need to be nervous, Rin. I just wanted to ask how you would feel about becoming a part of the Circle?" Kodlak smiled at her, hoping she would take the offer. In her time alone, Rin had blossomed. He knew she loved her sister very much, even if Ariella had run off. He believed it gave Rin the opportunity to grow and learn so much more, though he admitted he missed Ariella's fire as well. But he knew she would be back.

                   "A... a part of the Circle? Are you sure?" Rin gaped at him, shocked at his invitation. She would've never expected to be invited into the Circle, especially so soon.

                "Of course! You have proved yourself more than worthy enough, and Farkas has volunteered to be your Shield-Sibling, though I doubt _that_ would surprise you," Kodlak smiled again, "You will be going to Dustman's Cairn, and recovering a fragment of Wuuthrad."

                Rin sat there taking it all in before she developed a big smile, "Alright, I'll go get Farkas and go!"

                Kodlak watched her as she leapt up and ran out to look for Farkas. That girl had changed so much in the month and a half her sister was gone.

 

 

 

 

                In two months, Ariella became an asset in the Thieves guild. Some of the other members hadn't quite liked her to start with, but after successfully completing her first contract, sending a message to the Goldenglow owner, and helping Maven Black-briar destroy an old competitor, everyone began to go to her for help. Ariella and Brynjolf became close friends, but it ended there, and after getting to know Brynjolf a bit, she didn't mind that. She trusted Brynjolf as much as someone could trust a thief, but she knew the charmingly handsome bachelor would never be able to take things serious. But that sure didn't keep her from flirting with him.

                Ariella began to love Riften, the people, the sights, everything. She became close friends with Sapphire, Brynjolf and Niruin, but she really enjoyed listening to Delvin tell stories of his adventures. She had come to respect Maven, though she didn't like her all that much. Ariella learned to completely avoid Mercer Frey as much as she could, after once seeing him nearly kill an insubordinate member, she played safe and decided to follow orders as closely as she could. Ariella didn't have her nightmares nearly as much, and it wasn't a huge problem anymore when she always slept in the very back of the Cistern, and woke before things got bad.

                Ariella decided to go to the Bee and Barb with Sapphire and Niruin one night, to get as drunk as humanly possible, and more than likely cause some sort of scene that would need the guards to break it up.

                "Arie, how many bottles of mead do you think I can drink in a minute?" Sapphire poked Ariella and proceeded to grab an armful of bottles of mead, setting them down on their table.

                    "No more than I can drink, my friend!" Ariella smirked,  pulling half of the bottles towards her.

                "Ladies, ladies! Just remember I can only carry one of you drunks back to the cistern, and I don't trust either of you alone for one second! You'd likely set the Riften Fishery on fire, and we can't have that!" Niruin cut in, chugging a bottle of mead himself.

                    "Hey, you'd be the talk of the town if these guys in here saw you take home not one but two drunken women home!" Sapphire joked at a bad time, Ariella spit out the mead she was drinking all over Sapphire, who proceeded to join in the laughter. Other citizens began to glance over, wondering what was so funny, but no one dared to come near the group of thieves. They laughed and joked to one another, Niruin and Ariella had an arm wrestling contest and Ariella bet 20 septims that Sapphire could make Marcurio blush, which she could. Everything was all good fun, when Brynjolf walked through the doors.

                "Bryn!! Glad you-- made it!" Ariella shouted for him, causing the whole tavern to glare over, but she didn't care.

                   "Aye lass, we need to talk," Brynjolf spoke in a low tone when he approached the table.

                "Wha.. What is it Bryn? Why are you so quiet?" Ariella chuckled while she slurred her words.

                    "Lass, this is serious, pay attention. Mercer has requested you. By name. I don't know what it's about, but I think it's about that symbol you found at both Goldenglow and Honningbrew. You need to go see him, now," Brynjolf got down and looked at her in the eye, making sure he kept her attention. Ariella felt her heart stop, Mercer had never asked to speak with her when he didn't have to.  Ariella stumbled to get up, Brynjolf caught her by the arm until she stabled herself.

                "I'll be back later you two, don't drink too much without me!" Ariella told Sapphire and Niruin, who looked as nervous as she felt.

                    "I'll help you back to the cistern lass, but after that you're on your own," Brynjolf whispered into Ariella's ear, sending chills down her spine.

                It was dark when they got outside, Ariella's eyes took quite a bit of time to adjust. She leaned on Bryn while she stumbled her way down the stairs to the secret entrance to the cistern, but when she saw Mercer in the cistern scowling to his desk, she was too scared to feel the effects of the alcohol. Brynjolf took his leave, slowly letting go of her hand while she stumbled over to Mercer Frey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get to update yesterday, this was a really hard chapter for me to write! Hope you guys like it!


	9. I Got This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin goes to Dustman's Cairn with Farkas to get the fragments of Wuuthrad. Mercer Frey assigns Ariella to go to Solitude to shake down Gulum-Ei, but decides to do one more bust before she goes.

                When Ariella had joked about Farkas being a werewolf, Rin never thought it could possibly be true. But there he was, on the other side of the bars, transformed into some big hulking beast, tearing apart several bandits. Rin knew he hadn't wanted her to see him like this when he whispered he was sorry before transforming, and she understood. She was afraid, for him, not of him. She knew keeping something like that as a secret must not be easy, and that someone would easily be prosecuted for it.

                Rin comforted him after he had opened the gate for her, saying she didn't think he was a monster, that she trusted him. She knew he had no intentions of hurting her. They continued through Dustman's Cairn, Farkas educating Rin on the situation along the way.

                "The whole Circle has is like this. Has been for as long as I've been a part of it. Those bandits back there weren't really bandits, they are a part of a group called the Silver Hand. They're werewolf hunters, and they hunt anyone they think could be a werewolf, including the Companions."

                Rin didn't like the sound of these people, and them hunting her friends gave her all the reason to fight them. The Companions were all Rin had now, and she wasn't about to let that go.

                After a few hours of trekking through the Cairn, Rin and Farkas came to the main chamber. The amount of coffins made Rin feel uneasy, like they were ready to pop open at any time. Rin noticed the large rounded wall in the back, like the one in Bleak Falls Barrow, it made her think back to what happened to Ariella. Rin walked to the large stone table and carefully picked up the pieces of Wuuthrad, wrapping them in cloth to prevent damage, and carefully placed it in her pack.

                Like they knew Rin had taken the fragments, each coffin began to break open, draugr crawling out one by one. Farkas ran towards a group of draugr while Rin sank back and snuck behind each draugr and sliced them along the necks. They slowly picked each and every one of them off,  totaling seventeen dead draugr after Rin counted them all. She sat leaning next to Farkas for some time while they regained their breath, getting ready for the journey back.

 

 

 

                Ariella approached Mercer nervously, he barely glanced up while she walked up before turning back to his desk, scowling.

                "Y-you summoned me, Mercer?" Ariella asked, attempting to cover up the nerves.

                    "Stop shaking, you're not in trouble," Mercer scolded her, still staring at papers on his desk. Ariella relaxed a bit, but was still a bit antsy.

                "What do you need then?" She asked in a firmer voice, she wondered what he could possibly want now.

                    "That symbol that you found on the Goldenglow deed and that note from Honningbrew only proves that we're being acted against. But whoever they are, they slipped up. On here, it says something about a certain old associate of ours, by the name of Gulum-Ei. He's holed up in Solitude, likely at the Winking Skeever. That's where you come in. You are going to go and shake him down for who he's working for," Mercer said, staring Ariella down with a 'you will do exactly what I say' look.

                "Alright. Winking Skeever, Solitude, Gulum-Ei. Got it. Anything else?" Ariella confirmed, trying to look good in front of Mercer.

                    "Just don't kill him. He may be useful later," Mercer said, turning his attention back to the desk. Ariella bowed and began to walk away when Mercer called back to her, "Leave tomorrow night, and preferably not piss drunk either."

                Ariella turned red when she walked away quickly, going to the Ragged Flagon to find Brynjolf. He wasn't hard to find, he was talking to Delvin at one of the tables,  like usual. She pulled up a seat next to him and put her head in her hands, shaking her thoughts away.

                    "What did Mercer want lass?" Brynjolf asked, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Ariella sighed, she didn't want to make a trip to Solitude, especially with all the Imperials in the city.

                "He wants me to go to Solitude and shake down an argonian for information about who's behind the mysterious symbol. I don't see why he wants _me_ to be the one to go, plenty of you guys could do this, probably a lot easier too," Ariella rolled her eyes, but she knew there wouldn't be a way to get out of this.

                    "He probably has his reasons. You'll be great, lass, plus you can make a good impression on Mercer with this opportunity," Brynjolf tried to lighten the mood.

                "Aye, Mercer will think higher of you if you come back with good details," Delvin chimed in.

                    "I think I'm going to go hit a place tonight, before I go you know. Gotta find something pretty for the road," Ariella put on a fake smile, and stood up.

                "Are you sure that's wise, lass? You are pretty drunk right now," Brynjolf warned, but Ariella shook her head at him.

                    "I'll be fine Bryn, I _got_ this. You know me, I'll be in and out before anyone notices!" Ariella smirked at him, "I'll be home in an hour or two."  Brynjolf frowned, but there was no arguing with the lass. He knew she did what she wanted.

                "Hey Bryn," Ariella called Brynjolf out of his thoughts.

                    "Yes lass?" He asked, putting on a smile for her.

                "Don't wait up," Ariella looked back and winked, before strutting on back to the cistern.

 

 

 

                "Who will speak for her?" Kodlak asked the Circle, they stood together for Rin's initiation.

                    "I stand witness for the courage of the soul before us," Farkas spoke up, to no one's surprise. But Rin hadn't paid much attention. She was too busy thinking about how proud Ariella would be if she could see this. She wondered where Ariella was, and how she was doing. If she was ok, if she had made any friends. Rin was deep in her thoughts when the Initiation was finishing.

                "It shall be so," Everyone said in unison, and made their ways inside.

                    "Well, girl, you're one of us now. I know you won't disappoint," Kodlak approached her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

                "I won't, but I just wish... I wish Ariella was here to see me.." Rin frowned, her gaze lingered on the ground.

                    "If she was here, I am sure she would be most proud to see how much her little sister has grown in these past few months," Kodlak said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Rin looked up at him and smiled, she knew he was right. Kodlak led Rin inside, where everyone was already beginning to get drunk and celebrate.  "Go, this party is for you, you deserve to have a bit of fun."

                Rin smiled and nodded gratefully at Kodlak before joining the rest of the Companions, getting a drink of her own.

                    "Rin! Come, drink with me," Aela offered a seat next to her with a big smile.

                "No, Rin, sit with me!" Ria insisted.

                    "How about we drink for it?" Aela challenged, both women quickly take up the challenge. Rin goes to sit further back, slowly drinking some mead and watching as Torvar begun to dance really badly with a very drunk Ria. She sat back and watched the show when Vilkas sat next to her.

                "Having fun yet?" He asked her giving her a polite smile.

                    "It's not fun until someone gets into a fist fight," Rin turned to him and smiled.

                "Did someone say fist fight?!" asked an overly excited Athis.

                    "I accept your challenge!" Torvar shouted, tackling Athis to the floor. Vilkas and Rin shared a laugh, watching Torvar and Athis attempt to wrestle on the floor. Vilkas and Rin stayed quiet for a minute, Rin wasn't quite sure what to say. She gazed up at him and noticed something in his eyes, a sadness maybe, she wasn't quite sure.

                "Do you miss her?" Rin asked curiously, leaning on the table and giving him her full attention. Vilkas snorted and looked as he was about to speak, but stopped before her spoke and looked to the ground sadly.

                    "I.. I think I do. Just a bit.." He began to say before turning to Rin with a smile, "There's no one quite as entertaining to argue with when she's not here."

                "Ha, you can say that again. It was amusing seeing her act around someone just as stubborn as she is," Rin said with a teasing smile as Farkas walked up.

                    "Hey! You owe me a dance, now that you're part of the Circle," Farkas said leaning on the table.

                "Oh, don't mind me!" Rin said with a smirk, "Vilkas you better go dance with your brother before he gets mad!"

                She earned a hearty laugh from both brothers before taking Farkas' hand and joined him for a dance.

 

 

 

                Ariella was so used to sneaking around Riften now, it didn't matter how much she had to drink. She glanced around, wondering where to break in to. There was only one building that wasn't off limits that she knew she hadn't broken into, and it was Honorhall Orphanage. _Well, maybe it could have some goods,_ Ariella thought to herself, though she highly doubted it, but she felt the need to go in.

                She snuck in quietly, and shuffled through the first room. She didn't find anything of interest and moved to the next room, where she heard a woman, older she assumed, yelling at somebody. She peaked around the corner and saw an old lady, yelling at a little blonde girl who was in tears and shaking.

                "You idiot! Did you really think you would get away with it?" The old woman shouted. The other orphans sat in their beds staring with wide eyes, and the little girl shook her head.

                    "I swear, I didn't take it Grelod, promise!!" The little girl pleaded through her sobs.

                "You promise? Hah! You are a dirty little thief and you know it!" The old woman, Grelod, scoffed. She raised her hand and struck the young girl, who fell to her hands and knees.  Ariella could hear Mirmulnir growl loudly in her head, and she knew she had to act.

                    "Hey! What in Oblivion is wrong with you?!" Ariella stormed out, abandoning her hiding place.

                "Huh? Who the blazes are you?" Grelod glared down the new threat.

                    "Someone who doesn't take to old hags abusing children," Ariella growled at her, getting up close. Grelod reached down and grabbed the little girl by her hair and shoved her away towards another room.

                "I'll deal with you later," Grelod hissed at the little girl who cowered in the corner.

                    "You will do no such thing," Ariella said, raising her hand and pointing in the old woman's face. Grelod reached up and snatched Ariella's wrist, and that was enough to set her off.

                " _Fus!"_   Ariella shouted, the old woman flew back and hit her head on the floor, hard.

                The children all gasped, but no one moved. Ariella stared down horrified, unsure of what had just happened. The little girl crawled over and shook the old woman, who didn't move. She had to be dead, and Ariella knew it.

                "Grelod the Kind is dead! Hooray!" The little girl cheered. The other children joined in celebration, but Ariella panicked. Her thoughts were flying in all sorts of directions, so she did what she did best.            

                               

 

                                She ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are picking up in the chapters, the next couple chapters are already written so I'll be posting them on time! Enjoy friends (:


	10. We Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin volunteers to help Aela take out some Silver Hand, while Ariella becomes Thane of Falkreath and is given property and a housecarl, Rayya.

                "I've caught wind that one of the brighter Silver Hand has been sniffing around Whiterun. If you can sneak into their camp and steal their plans, we'll have the advantage. They're holed up in Valtheim Towers, just east of here. Just follow the river and you'll get there," Aela instructed Rin.

                Rin had began to volunteer for anything she could do to help take down the Silver Hand after what had happened in Dustman's Cairn. Aela was more than happy to give Rin some assignments, especially after the Silver Hand had killed Skjor. 

                Rin nodded, accepting this new contract and made her way out, grabbing her orcish bow on the way out of Jorrvaskr. She had passed the towers before on a contract, she knew exactly where to go. Over time, she had became friends with Jerver, the stable owner's son, and they would let her borrow a horse as long as she brought it back safe. Rin borrowed her favorite horse, Allie, and rode on towards the towers.

                Rin, much like her sister, would rather pick people off from afar, unnoticed, and then deal with them first-hand after she was spotted. She picked off Silver hand members who were standing on  the bridge between towers, she hit one who fell into the river. The others spun around, quickly looking for a source, but didn't see small Rin crouching with her bow drawn. She picked off two more before she couldn't see any more. She knew there were likely more, she carefully made her way down to the towers staying in a crouch.

                She snuck in and grabbed whatever she thought looked interesting, and peaked around to see if she saw anyone. She noticed more people on the other tower, she took them out from afar with no problem. Once she was sure she didn't see anyone else, she paraded across the bridge. She entered the other tower, and a lone Silver hand member swung a sword at her. Rin spun and dodged, and stabbed him right in the gut with an ebony dagger, a gift from Farkas, the man fell to the ground dead. Rin smirked, she was getting good this. She found the plans Aela had mentioned, and sauntered back to Allie. She couldn't wait to return.

 

 

 

                "Thane?!" Ariella stood shocked, she never expected to be given a title like this.

                    "Yes, thane. You've been useful to me, clearing the bandits and whatnot. I am allowing you to have the land out by the lake to build your own house, if you wish. And I am granting you a housecarl. Her name is Rayya, she should be around here somewhere," Jarl Siddgeir said with disinterest, waving her off. Ariella was unsure of what this meant, she never would've imagined something like this, though it was more believable than this Dragonborn business that she had been avoiding.  Ariella made for the door when a pretty redguard woman approached her.

                "My thane, I am to be your housecarl. I am Rayya. It is an honor to be of service for you," She said, bowing low. Rayya followed Ariella out the doors where Ariella stopped in the street, looking confused.

                    "Err, alright. Uhh, as my first.. Thing.? As thane," Ariella stumbled over every word, unsure how to word what she wanted to say, "Could you tell me what in Oblivion it means to be thane?"

                Rayya tried to hold back a smirk, this girl was young, and had no idea what it meant to be thane, "It's basically just a pretty title you can use around people to sound important."

                "Ahh! Alright then," Rayya watched as Ariella registered what she meant, "And where is this building property? And uh.. What do I need to build a house?"

                Rayya had the feeling she would like this girl. She wasn't like the normal nobles, all stuck up and pretended they knew everything about anything. 

                    "To build a house, you would have to stop at Lod's smithy, he can sell you some iron to build things out of, such as nails and fittings. You also need to stop at the mill and buy some lumber, so you'll have wood to build from. You may also need to get some clay and quarried stone, goat horns for lighting, straw for a bed. But I'm sure we can figure it out on the way. I will lead you to the property after we buy materials if you wish," Rayya gave the girl a warm smile.

                "Alright wonderful, thank you! I am Ariella, by the way," Ariella stuck out a hand to Rayya, giving her a friendly smile back. Rayya took her hand and shook it, and the two went off to buy supplies.  Ariella and Rayya had been all over Falkreath buying supplies without any issues.

                A courier came running up, almost slamming into Ariella, "You, you're Ariella, right?"

                "Uh, yes, I am? What is it?" Ariella stared at this stranger.

                    "I've been looking for you, got this note here for you," the courier shuffled through his bag before whipping out a note.

                "Who's it from?" Ariella asked, she wasn't sure who would have a note sent to her.

                    "Didn't say. Some creepy fellow, black robes, didn't see his face. Paid me a pretty sum to get that into your hands though. Anyways, that's it, I've got to get back to my rounds," the courier said, running off.

                "What's it say?" Rayya asked curiously, watching Ariella stare at it and slowly open it.

                Ariella froze, her eyes wide, staring down at the note.

                                                               

                                                                                      

 

 

                Rin was proud when she handed Aela the plans. Aela didn't expect Rin to be back so fast, but she was glad she had sent someone so reliable. Rin sat down to eat supper with Athis and Ria, who were both very cheerful to see her. They chat for a while until both Athis and Ria got up and left to train or rest. Vilkas came wandering up and pulled up a chair next to Rin once she was alone.

                "I have a contract if you want it, though it'll take a bit more time than you're used to," He told her.

                    "I can handle it," Rin smiled, ready to accept a new challenge.

                "Alright, but you will need to leave immediately. A citizen from Morthal has been kidnapped, her name is Lami, and she is an apothecary. We believe she's held up in a bandit camp called Robber's Gorge. I'll mark it on your map. Just get up there as fast as you can," Vilkas got up with a smile and left her.  _Alright, another adventure for me._

 

 

                Ariella and Rayya looked at their work, and Ariella was proud of what they had done. Lakeview Manor was what they had decided to call it. They had managed to build a small house to start, and added a larger hall to the back. They built a library on one side and a greenhouse on the other, and a storage room at the very end. They had gotten everything fully furnished, and had done most of it by themselves. They both had plenty of room, plenty of storage. Ariella had already planted flowers, herbs and mushrooms in her greenhouse, and some produce out in her garden. She had a place of her own, something she had always dreamed of.

                Ariella really like Rayya, they got along very well. Ariella would ask her all sorts of questions and Rayya would answer them as best she could. Ariella could make Rayya laugh, and Rayya told Ariella of her adventures before becoming a housecarl. Ariella told Rayya about her sister and the Companions, and about the Dragonborn situation. She told her about Brynjolf, Sapphire and Niruin back in Riften, and why she left. She felt like she could tell Rayya anything.

                "Okay, so let me get this straight then. I _shouldn't_ panic if you suddenly disappear," Rayya teased Ariella, who sat with her feet on the table. Ariella laughed and drank some mead, Rayya chuckled and shook her head.

                    "Okay, so maybe running isn't the best response, but hey, it's worked for me so far. Though I do miss my sister, and I miss some of the companions. I miss my friends in Riften, but I'm so scared to go back.." Ariella trailed off, frowning to herself.

                "Why did you like Riften so much?" Rayya asked curiously, leaning onto the table to look closer at Ariella. Ariella sat  and thought for a minute before answering.

                "I.. I guess I liked it so much because I was running from my worries and responsibilities.. I was doing things that were dangerous and exciting to me, and I was good at it. I had friends who made me laugh, that made me feel comfortable. Ha, one time, one of the other guild members, Cynric, he was so smashed, he had ended up passing out. We stole all of his clothes and we had managed to get him up onto the roof of the Black-briar meadery. He woke up mid-morning the next day after the guards noticed him and started tossing rocks at him to wake him! He ended up walking into the Flagon, butt-naked, bruised from slipping off the roof, with a sunburn covering his backside!" Ariella threw her head back in laughter, she had such good memories there, "And believe me, he never got drunk with _us_ again!"

                Rayya laughed, she knew Ariella would be an interesting person to spend time with. She was glad she was assigned to be _her_ housecarl, and not some other random citizen.

                "I am going to head to bed Ariella, try to get some rest tonight. I think we've both earned it now that we've finally finished building. Good night," Rayya smiled and walked up the stairs to go to bed.

                Ariella sat alone, smiling to herself, thinking back on fond memories. She wished she were back in Riften, even if it smelt fish all the time. Though she wasn't looking forward to going back to Mercer, especially since she disappeared about a month and a half ago. She went up the stairs to her room and stripped off her leather armor that she had gotten when she joined the thieves guild. She set her weapons beside her bed, and laid in what was _her_ bed. Not a bed that changed every night like in Jorrvaskr, not in a bedroll that Ariella hid in the back of the cistern so no one would be bothered by her nightmares. It was a matter of minutes before Ariella fell asleep.


	11. Keep Telling Yourself That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Ariella and Rin have a surprise in store for them~

                _Damn that Astrid,_ Ariella thought to herself.

                Ariella had fallen asleep in her new home, Lakeview manor, and had been woken up in a shack in the middle of nowhere, not even close to her home. After Astrid tried to sell her into joining the Dark Brotherhood, Ariella had taken the opportunity to hike up to Solitude, where she finished her old assignment with Gulum-Ei, tracking him back down to the East Empire company Warehouse, took out all of his mercenaries and terrified him to Oblivion with threats on his life if he didn't tell. And all for a lousy name of a woman that Ariella didn't know.

                Ariella was not prepared to make the long walk back to Falkreath, especially without a horse. She traveled the roads as quietly as she could, with her hood up and her new bow out, an enchanted daedric bow she had oh so kindly been given by Gulum-Ei, who was so terrified of her that he gave it to her. She had never used enchanted weapons, and hoped she didn't have to on the long way back home.

                The roads were empty, the only things Ariella came across were elk and the occasional fox, after taking the south road from Dragonsbridge, Ariella's wish for an easy journey was seeming to come true. She noticed a bandit camp ahead, and snuck around and across the river, not being noticed. About half an hour down the road, Ariella noticed a person in the distance. She couldn't tell anything about the oncoming person, they were also hooded and armed. She tugged her hood further over her face and pulled a mask up to cover her face, and kept her dagger unsheathed and hidden, just in case. She wasn't about to take any chances, especially after being kidnapped the night before by an assassin. 

 

 

                Rin was wandering up the road towards the Robber's Gorge when she saw someone walking down the road. Rin unsheathed her dagger just in case, she knew it could potentially be a Silver Hand member. She wasn't going to take any chances.

                It wasn't until this other hooded traveler had gotten closer when Ariella noticed the stranger's unsheathed dagger. Apparently the stranger also noticed Ariella's was unsheathed, because she pulled out her dagger from hiding and swung at Ariella. Ariella dodged and slashed at the stranger, who jumped back avoiding the attack.

                Rin thought there was something vaguely familiar about this hooded stranger. She had worn a facial mask, just like Rin had on, so she couldn't recognize her face. But Rin had this deep feeling that she didn't want to hurt this stranger. She used a trick that Aela had taught her to disarm the girl. _Could it be?_

Ariella didn't know what to do once she was disarmed. She panicked, and this person threw their weight onto her, tackling her to the ground, Ariella let out a pained grunt. She struggled to push this woman off, but she was stuck.

                "Ariella! Arie, it's me!"

                Ariella watched as her sister emerged from under this hood and mask, and her eyes widened. She didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. Rin slowly got off of Ariella, who in turn sat up and took off her hood and mask. The two stared at each other in disbelief, unsure of what to do next. They sat there for what seemed to be a long time before Rin threw her arms around Ariella.

                Ariella had a hard time believing this was her sister. Her shy, innocent little sister, who would never hurt a single living thing, had not only disarmed her, but pinned her to the ground without trouble. She slowly wrapped her arms around Rin, she hadn't thought this moment would happen anytime soon.

                "What are you doing out here?" Ariella asked, staring at Rin.

                    "I'm out on a job, I'm supposed to rescue a kidnapped woman in a bandit camp. It's actually not too far from here I think..." Rin spewed and trailed off, and started shuffling through her bag looking for her map.

                "A bandit camp? I passed one not very long ago.. But are you doing this.. Alone?" Ariella asked, her eyes narrowed. She couldn't believe they'd send her out alone.

                    "Yeah! All by myself. I've been doing my own contracts for a while, I'm part of the Circle now!" Rin beamed at Ariella excitedly, who still looked too surprised to understand.

                "The Circle? By yourself? By the eight..." Ariella sat and thought about how long it had been since she had left. About five months she thought, and in those five months her sister had become part of the Circle and doing her own work.

                    "Yeah, we've been really busy since.. Well, since you left. Farkas offered to train me. It's been really fun, we've all been getting along great, but.. I missed you.." Rin slowly began to frown, and looked to the ground.

                "I.. I missed you too. I just can't believe it's been so.. Long. Here, I'll come with you and help you deal with some bandits. Maybe I can make it go by faster for you," Ariella said, getting up and reaching a hand out for Rin.  Rin smiled up at Ariella and accepted her hand gratefully.

                Together, they walked back up the road, talking about their adventures. Ariella told stories of her guild mates in Riften, and about the handsome Brynjolf, and about Rayya and her new house. Rin told Ariella about how Torvar danced drunk and wrestled Athis after her initiation, how she had been studying restoration with Danica, who said she should go to the College of Winterhold, and about all the contracts she had been doing lately.

                They had gotten to the Robber's Gorge, they both decided together that it was best to sneak in and take as many out as possible. Unfortunately, they were spotted once they had entered the camp. Ariella had panicked until she saw Rin handle herself just fine, and then turned her attention to a couple archers at the edge of the camp. The girls ended up back to back, and bandits had began to surround them.

                "Arie?" Rin asked as they both being surrounded.

                    "Yeah?" Ariella called back, not taking her eyes off the bandits.

                "Do you trust me?" Rin asked.

                   "Of course," Ariella said, too busy watching the bandits to ask why.

                "Alright, then don't freak out," Rin answered.

                Ariella glanced back to see her sister, who had thrown off quite a bit of armor. She was about to ask if she had gone insane, until she noticed the changes.

                Her eyes turned golden, and fur sprouted out of her body, her limbs grew longer. Ariella fell back to the ground and stared up, watching as her sweet little sister became a giant deadly werewolf. The bandits had the same fear in their eyes as several of them ran, the wolf chased down a few of them and tore them to shreds with her claws, and ripped their throats out with her teeth. Ariella sat back in horror, she couldn't move.

                After the bandits were dead, Ariella watched as the creature turned back into her younger sister. Rin approached her with a friendly hand out, Ariella stared at it before accepting it.

                "It's a Companion thing," Rin smiled sheepishly, answering the question going through Ariella's head. She grabbed her armor and put it all back on, piece by piece.

                    "W.. Was it always..?" Ariella asked, still unsettled.

                "For a long time, yeah. But it's not everyone, it's just.. The Circle," Rin said, giving Ariella a worried look. She had no clue how she was feeling. Ariella sighed and stood up straighter than usual.

                    "Well, I guess I'll have to get used to it then. You're still my baby sister," Ariella faked a smile, she knew it would take some time to accept. Rin beamed and hugged her again, before skipping off towards the lone hut that they were sure the kidnapped citizen was in. They snuck in quietly and killed the lone guard and pocketed the key from his corpse, and snuck down the trap door to find the huddled young woman. Lami shook and begun to cry when both girls came down.

                "Please! Please don't hurt me!" Lami begged between sobs.

                    "Oh no, no, no! We're here to help you. You're Lami, right? The apothecary from Morthal? My name is Rin, and this is Ariella, my sister. We're a part of the Companions," Rin squatted down and held out a friendly hand to Lami. Lami hesitated before taking it, being helped to her feet.

                "The.. The bandits?" Lami shook, glancing up at the trapdoor restlessly.

                    "You don't have to worry anymore about them, you are safe," Rin smiled, and wrapped an arm around her. Ariella helped Lami out of the cave, and they quickly escorted her back to Morthal.

 

 

 

                "Thank you girls so much, I don't know what I would've done if I was still trapped there. Give my regards to the rest of the Companions," Lami smiled weakly at Rin and Ariella and ran off to her home. The girls waved goodbye while they watched her go.

                    "What are you going to do now?" Rin grimaced, avoiding Ariella's gaze. Ariella hadn't thought of this, she had just assumed she should go back home to Lakeview.

                "I.. I hadn't really planned anything.. I don't think the Companion's would take me back... I can't go back to Riften.." Ariella trailed off, a heavyhearted feeling took over her.

                    "Of course they'd take you back!! Arie, Kodlak always told me you'd come back, and that when you'd come back, that he'd welcome you in with open arms. You have _nothing_ to worry about," Rin pleaded, she didn't want to see Ariella walk away again. Ariella scowled despondently, she wasn't quite so sure about it. But when she saw the anguish in Rin's eyes, she knew she couldn't argue.

                "Alright, alright. I'll go back with you. But I don't think it will work like that," Ariella caved. Rin glowed in excitement before throwing herself around Ariella again. They both laughed and made their way back down the road. The road was long, and the girls spoke like they hadn't seen each other in years. They both had plenty of stories to tell, and there didn't seem to be an end to them.

               

 

                "Alright, so has Farkas finally made a move on you or no?" Ariella grinned, prodding Rin for more details as they set up a camp for the night.

                     "Well.. He's basically been by my side non-stop since you left, and he's asked me to dance several times when we were celebrating things, and he's given me a couple gifts but.. Besides that he seems to be.. _Shy_? Shy would be a good word for it, I guess," Rin stared off somberly, laying out her bedroll.

                "Shy? Farkas? How is _he_ shy?" Ariella kept poking at her, leaning back onto a log and pulling some food from her knapsack, handing Rin some bread and mead.

                     "Well, if it's brought up that he has a crush on me, he goes completely red-faced and finds an excuse to leave. He's never tried to kiss me or anything, but it's pretty clear that something's _there_.. At least I think it is?" Rin turns to Ariella, looking more worried than sad.

                "Well of course something is there. You'd have to be blind to not see it. He'll come around, Rin. I know it. I mean, who can _resist us?_ " Ariella nudged Rin with a hearty laugh. Rin cackled and fell back, throwing a piece of bread at Ariella.  The girls sat close and chuckled for a few more minutes before they got quiet.

                "How is everyone else?" Ariella glanced at Rin wistfully, taking a bite of an apple.

                    "Well.. Aela's been a mess since Skjor died, though she doesn't want people to think so.. Ria killed a bear a while back, and she _still_ reminds everyone about it. Kodlak hasn't been spending as much time with the rest of us like before, I think his age is finally catching up with him," Rin frowned, she didn't like to think that Kodlak was getting old. Ariella took it all in before speaking again.

                "And Vilkas?" She said, keeping her face collected. Rin smiled cheerfully at Ariella, holding back a giggle. She had felt this would come up.

                    "Vilkas.. Well, he's definitely still Vilkas. He didn't really want to talk about you leaving. He kind of avoided the topic," Rin watched as Ariella's collected face turned dark. Ariella didn't speak, she just nodded slightly, trying to regain composure.

                    "I talked to him at my initiation, I asked him if he missed you. He tried to act all at ease and tried to laugh it off, but he couldn't hold up the charade. He said he missed you, and that _'there's no one quite as entertaining to argue with'_ ," Rin nudged Ariella, trying to make her feel better. Ariella pushed out a laugh, but it sounded more pained than amused.  "You like him, don't you?"

                Ariella was taken aback, Rin couldn't help but giggle at her.

                "No! No, no! I was just.. Wondering how he was, that's all. I just figured it surprised him that I left so suddenly," Ariella tried to defend herself, but Rin knew better.

                    "Uh-huh, sure. Keep telling yourself that, Arie," Rin winked and laid down on her bed roll, "I'm going to get some sleep now."

                "Alright, I'll keep watch for tonight. Get some sleep," Ariella glared playfully at Rin, throwing an extra blanket onto her sister as Rin fell asleep.

 

 

                It had been a little over a week since Vilkas had sent Rin out on a contract to rescue Lima from bandits. He had to sit and watch Farkas pace every day, anxiously awaiting her return. He couldn't get Farkas to do anything. Farkas refused contracts, even if they were within the hold so he ' _wouldn't miss Rin in case she came back'_ , and he refused to train so he'd ' _look nice in case Rin came back'. He was hopeless_ , Vilkas thought, he just had to wait until Rin came back, if she did.

                Vilkas had been sitting downstairs with Farkas, eating lunch when Farkas shot up and ran to the stairs, nearly running down Tilma. Vilkas stopped to apologize to Tilma while Farkas was already up the stairs.

                Rin walked into Jorrvaskr alone, looking weary from road travel. She first walked over to Aela, who was sitting at the far end of the table towards the room that Vignar would sleep in. Rin didn't even have time to speak before Farkas was at her side, making sure she was perfectly unharmed.

                "Are you alright? You were gone for a long time, I got worried.. Vil wouldn't let me go after you, even after so long. Why were you gone so long? Did everything go alright?" Rin was surprised Farkas could spew so many words out at once, let alone how sudden they were.

                "I'm fine, really! I just had some.. Unexpected occurrences," Rin grinned, lightly touching Farkas' arm.

                Vilkas had finally gotten up the stairs, chasing after Farkas, when he noticed someone silently slip in the doors and edged up to Rin. It took him no more than an instant when he took her hood off, that he recognized her.

                    "Ariella..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reunited at last! I'm so excited to post the next chapter, showing Vilkas' reaction to Ariella being back. Hope you enjoyed (:


	12. This isn't Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella returns with Rin to Jorrvaskr. Together, they're sent out on a personal mission for Kodlak.

                Ariella was a bundle of anxiety when she stood outside of Jorrvaskr. She had let Rin go in first, while she nervously paced outside the front doors, taking deep breaths in. She hadn't put much thought into what she would say to everyone here, but now that the time had come, she wished she had. She didn't regret leaving, she knew now that it had made both Rin and her stronger. But would Kodlak realize that? Would Vilkas? Or Aela?

                Ariella took a deep breath before sneaking in the big iron doors, and slid up next to Rin. It was no shock that Farkas was already there, but when Ariella saw Vilkas at the top of the stairs, her heart stopped. She knew she didn't know what to say, but she was even more clueless when it had come to speaking to Vilkas again. She watched as he whispered her name under his breath after she removed her hood, before regaining his composure and stalking up to Rin.

                    "It's good to see you're finally back Rin, and that you're safe. We hardly could get Farkas to eat, he was so worried," Vilkas said, pushing Farkas a little more forcefully than intended. Farkas turned bright red, not a color Ariella ever expected to see him turn.

                "Yes, it took a little bit longer than expected, but as you see I got a little help," Rin glanced back at Ariella and grinned at her. Ariella shamefully kept her gaze low, she didn't feel ready for this.

                    "Well, we're glad you're alright. Kodlak asked to see you when you got back," Vilkas said to Rin, before stalking on off back down the stairs. Rin stood surprised, _had Vilkas just completely ignored Ariella?_

                Rin grabbed Ariella's hand before walking down the stairs and towards Kodlak's room. They had gotten down the stairs in time to hear Vilkas' door slam, but Rin pretended not to hear it. The closer they got to Kodlak's room, the slower Ariella walked. Rin looked back to Ariella and nodded, giving her a minute to breath.  Ariella watched as Rin confidently walked into Kodlak's study, and she heard Kodlak greet her warmly. She snuck up to his double doors, her arms crossed and she shriveled against the door. Kodlak turned his gaze to her and smiled.

                "Ariella, I knew it was only a matter of time until you returned to us," Kodlak spoke joyously, opening his arms wide for a welcome hug. Ariella took the opportunity and ran into his arms, she had missed Kodlak's warm-heartedness. Ariella could feel the tears falling down her face as Kodlak pulled back and wiped them away, "No need for tears girl. You are one of us, you are always welcome."

                Ariella smiled and nodded, but couldn't speak. She lipped the words thank you while Rin wrapped her arm around Ariella's shoulder.

                "What did you need of me, Kodlak?" Rin asked curiously as Kodlak took his seat.

                    "I was hoping you could do me a more personal favor. Though, I do not know if you wish your sister to hear of this," Kodlak gave her an unsure look.

                "Ariella already knows. I have told her about the beast blood," Rin nodded, taking a seat next to him, Ariella followed and hovered by her side.

                    "Ah, good. Let me ask you this, do you know of how the Companions came to the blood of the beast?" Kodlak asked, not taking his eyes off of Rin.

                "Well, Skjor had said it was a blessing from Hircine, but Vilkas said it was a curse from the ancient Companions," Rin recited what she had heard.

                    "Aye, that sounds like Skjor. Vilkas has a nugget of truth, but the reality is more complicated than that. It always is," Kodlak trailed off a bit, grabbing a cup of mead that sat on his table. He stared down at his reflection, deep in thought.

                "What is the truth then?" Rin asked curiously, Ariella leaned in a bit more too.

                    "The Companions are nearly five thousand years old. This matter of beast blood has only troubled us for a few hundred. One of my predecessors was a good, but short-sighted man. He made a bargain with the witches of Glenmoril Coven. If the Companions would hunt in the name of their lord, Hircine, we would be granted great power," Kodlak began to tell them both.

                "And so they became werewolves..?" Rin asked.

                    "They did not believe the change would be permanent. The witches offered payment, like anyone else. But we had been deceived. The witches didn't lie, of course. But it's more than our bodies. The disease affects not just our bodies. It seeps into the spirit. Upon death, werewolves are claimed by Hircine for his Hunting Grounds. For some, this is a paradise. They want nothing more than to chase prey with their master for eternity. And that is their choice. But I am still a true Nord. And I wish for Sovngarde as my spirit home."

                "Is there a way to be cured?" Ariella spoke up, calling Kodlak's attention.

                    "That's what I've spent my twilight years trying to find out. And now I've found the answer. The witches' magic ensnared us, and only their magic can release us. They won't give it willingly, but we can extract their foul powers by force. I want you to go and seek them out. Go to their coven in the wilderness. Strike them down as a true warrior of the wild, and bring me their heads, the seat of their abilities. From there, we may begin to undo centuries of impurity," Kodlak instructed Rin.

            "It shall be done," Rin declared, getting back up to her feet.

                "I think it is safe to assume you are going with her?" Kodlak turned his gaze to Ariella. Ariella smirked to herself and turned to Rin.

            "Can't let her have all the fun, can I?"

 

 

 

            It was an adventure for the girls to find the coven, but an even bigger one when it came to the Hagravens. They both elected that they would be as stealthy as possible, one causing a distraction while the other snuck up and slit the witch's throat. They took turns, and both of the girls became quite grumpy very quickly. Ariella was hit with a fire ball spell on the chest and had her ankle bitten by a skeever, while Rin was clawed along her face. Not to mention the whole decapitation shindig, which neither of the girls enjoyed.

            "Why did  it have to be _hagravens?_ Why couldn't it have been like, fluffy bunnies of doom or something?" Ariella moaned, her chest still ached from the fire spell that one of the hags had used on her.

                 "I don't think ' _fluffy bunnies of doom'_ would sound quite so honorable," Rin raised an eyebrow at her, but she completely agreed. She would rather have the bunnies.

                "And now we get to walk all the way back to Jorrvaskr with five smelly hagraven heads, this is great. _Fantastic even,_ I'm sure _nobody_ will feel unnerved by this," Ariella swung the bag of hagraven heads over her back.

                     "Hey, at least we get to brag to everyone that the two of us killed five hagravens by ourselves. Imagine how excited Kodlak is going to be when we get back," Rin managed to smile, imagining the excitement on Kodlak's face.

                "Well, we should be heading back, we might be able to make it back before night time," Ariella said when they exited the cave.

                The girls trudged along down the road, and just as Ariella thought, the few travelers they did happen to pass by became nervous when they saw the giant bloody sack. They made it back to Whiterun just before nightfall, also as Ariella expected. The guards they passed took one look at the bag, and just shook their heads, not even wanting to ask. Everything in town seemed normal until they came up into the Wind distract, and a small crowd was formed in front of the steps to Jorrvaskr. Ariella spotted Aela and Torvar higher up the steps, in front of several dead bodies.  Rin sprinted up to Aela, and quickly glanced down at the bodies and back up to Jorrvaskr. Ariella didn't have time to ask what was going on before Rin had ran up the stairs. Ariella ran after, and pushed the iron doors open after Rin. Vilkas stood leaned up against the wall, but Ariella's eyes were locked on the body laying on the floor in front of the fire place.

                "Where have you been?" Vilkas straightened up and glowered at the two girls after they walked in. Neither of them paid him any mind, and both shrunk down next to Kodlak, lying dead on the floor. Farkas sat next to Kodlak, staring straight ahead, eyes empty, and Njada sat on the other side, touching Kodlak's arm longingly. Rin stared wide-eyed, not accepting what happened. Ariella felt tears climb to her eyes, but she didn't dare let them out, not now.

                " _Where have you been?"_ Vilkas repeated himself, getting up into Rin's face as she stood up slowly.

                     "She was doing Kodlak a favor, just leave her alone," Ariella snapped at him, giving him a hard glare as she stood up.

                "Well I hope it was important, because it means _you_ weren't here to defend him," Vilkas got into Ariella's face, poking her hard in the chest, right in the burn. Rin knew that was a mistake, but she couldn't stop Ariella before it was too late.

                Ariella balled her fist and punched Vilkas as hard as she could. He stumbled back a few steps, gaping at her while she stormed out of Jorrvaskr. Rin chased out the doors after her, quickly being followed by a very angry Vilkas.

                "Arie! Wait, where are you going?" Rin called out after Ariella.

                    "Back to Falkreath, _obviously_ I'm not wanted here," Ariella snapped back.

                "You're not going _anywhere_   New Blood," Vilkas called after her.

                    "Let's see you stop me," Ariella spun around, challenging him.

                Rin tried to step in front of the two, desperately trying to keep them from killing each other when she heard one of the citizens retort, "Coward, running away from her problems. Seems they're letting anyone into the Companions these days."

                Rin prayed that Ariella didn't hear her.

                                She did.

                Ariella's attention turned away from Vilkas and turned to a Nord woman. Uthgerd the Unbroken she was known as, Rin had seen her around the Bannered Mare several times.

                "What did you just say?" Ariella spoke slowly, Rin could see the fire in Ariella's eyes and she knew this was not a fight she wanted to get into.

                    "I called you a _coward,_ " Uthgerd spoke slow and clear, enunciating every word. Rin could hear Ariella growl, she didn't want to watch a fight ensue. Apparently Vilkas had the same thought, because he picked Ariella up and threw her over his shoulder. Ariella screamed and thrashed, demanding he set her down, Vilkas ignored her.

                "We do not need you to go on and pick fights with civilians," Vilkas told her. Ariella hissed, and thrashed more, glaring down at Uthgerd.

                    "This _isn't_ over," Ariella yelled down at her while Vilkas carried her back inside Jorrvaskr. Ariella continued to fight until Vilkas carried her down the stairs, in which she proceeded to sulk. Rin sighed, she was glad Vilkas had stepped in, but she was sure it wasn't going to end so well.

                Vilkas carried Ariella down to Kodlak's study and threw her down, slamming the doors after Rin slipped in. Ariella curled up against a bookcase with her arms crossed and pouted, she wanted to beat something, and if Vilkas didn't let her out, it would be him.

                "We're going to make the bastards pay," Vilkas declared, Ariella turned to give him her attention. _A little revenge sounds nice right now._

    "But how?" Rin asked, keeping a close eye on Ariella.

                Vilkas thought for a moment before answering, "We're going to wipe them out. We will bring the battle to their chief camp. There will be none left living to tell their stories. Only songs of Jorrvaskr will be sung. And we will avenge Kodlak. They will know terror before the end."


	13. Of Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella, Rin and Vilkas go to Driftshade Refuge to avenge Kodlak. Things get a little interesting on their journey back.

                Ariella had to admit, she liked it when Vilkas traveled with them. He was a big target, and provided a perfect distraction until she could pick off enemies with her bow. Though she would never tell him that.

                Making it to Driftshade Refuge was easy, though very cold. Ariella didn't like traveling through the snow in her leathery thieves guild armor. Rin seemed to love it, the way she frolicked through it. Ariella was more than happy to be inside their keep, despite what seemed to be an endless amount of enemies. She still didn't know who these men were or what they attacked Jorrvaskr for, but she felt it wasn't the best time to ask either Vilkas or Rin.

                Ariella learned very quickly to stay out of Vilkas' way on this mission. He was angry, she knew that, but he barreled through her at first sight of enemies, knocking her to the floor. Rin didn't seem to notice, she was too busy attacking these enemies too. Ariella just quietly sat back and shot whichever enemies were far enough from both Companions. The further in they got, Ariella got the feeling this had something to do with their beast blood, after seeing the werewolf corpses and the caged werewolf. She had trouble keeping up with Rin and Vilkas, who stormed through the keep. She almost ran into Vilkas when she turned a corner and found Vilkas and Rin crouching.

                "There's more up ahead. It should be the last of them, we've pretty much circled the fort," Rin told Vilkas.

                    "What are we waiting for?" Ariella chimed in quietly from behind them, neither of them looked back at her.

                Rin began to strip off her armor and threw it to the side, Ariella looked at her surprised until she realized what was happening.

                "You're going to transform? What for?" Ariella approached Rin, putting a hand on her arm.

                    "Well wouldn't it be the most ironic death for a group of werewolf hunters?" Rin smirked, beginning her transformation. Ariella sank back, still nervous about Rin's new talent. Vilkas glared up the stairs, waiting for Rin to race into the room. Ariella waited until both Rin and Vilkas were up the stairs, before following, and by the time she made it up the stairs, Rin had killed almost all of the men, Vilkas quickly killing the rest. Ariella sighed, she wasn't feeling very welcome to this party, and not much better with her anger from earlier. She walked back down the stairs, fetching all of Rin's possessions and armor and brought them back up. Vilkas was wrapping fragments of Wuuthrad, Rin had just begun to transform back. Ariella tossed Rin her things before walking to a door and lifted the wooden plank that blocked the way. She heard Vilkas tell Rin that they'd have Kodlak's funeral prepared by the time they had gotten back, but she figured she wasn't being roped into that conversation.

 

 

 

                It was late by the time the group had left Driftshade Refuge, and Vilkas and Rin decided it was best to camp the night. Ariella accepted being a third-wheel in this revenge mission, and just went along with the rest of their decisions, even though it meant camping in the snow. Rin had gotten a fire going, and laid on her bedroll, quickly falling asleep. Ariella wasn't tired though, she had too much pent up anger to be tired. So she sat, gazing into the fire, seeing if she could manipulate it with her mind. She couldn't.

                "Get some sleep," Vilkas commanded, staring out into the snowy surroundings.

                     "Ha, you think I sleep?" Ariella retorted, glancing at him. Vilkas glanced over, meeting her gaze, and stared at her quizzically, "What?  Is that so _shocking_? I scream like I'm being murdered every time I sleep, it shouldn't be such a surprise I don't sleep much anymore."

                Vilkas sat quiet for a moment. If Ariella hadn't been listening close, she wouldn't have heard him mutter under his breath, "It didn't have to be that way."

                "Excuse me?" Ariella asked, she felt like this would be a good subject to speak on.

                     "It wouldn't have been that way if you hadn't have left," Vilkas growled, glaring over at her.

                Ariella quickly stood up and stared at him tauntingly, "This isn't about Kodlak at _all!"_

Vilkas glared up at her, "What are you talking about, whelp?"

                "You're not mad at me because Kodlak is dead. This _whole_ damn time you've been acting as if this was all _my_ fault," Ariella snarled at him.

                     "I _never_ said that," Vilkas said, turning his gaze away, refusing to stand up. Ariella stormed over and pushed him with her foot, he caught himself before hitting the snow.

                " _Bullshit_. You've been acting like I don't exist ever since I came back with Rin. Don't even try to tell me you haven't, you know you have, we _all_ do," Ariella hissed down at him. Vilkas stood up and walked away from the camp, he knew there was no need to wake Rin up with this argument.

                "Don't you _dare_ walk away from me," Ariella followed him like he had hoped.

                    "You're acting crazy, whelp," Vilkas snapped back at Ariella.

                "Crazy? At least I'm not acting like a gigantic _ass_ because someone _left me,_ " Ariella growled. Vilkas didn't know what to say, and he knew no matter the response, Ariella was only going to argue more.

                "Ass or not, at least I don't run from my problems," Vilkas glared down at Ariella, his words venomous. Ariella's jaw dropped, she reached out to slap him but this time Vilkas was ready. He caught her wrist and held it tight while she struggled to pull away. He saw the tears coming to her eyes when he pulled her in, holding her against his chest. Ariella stopped fighting, she just stood there sobbing in his arms. He dared to run his hand along the back of her head and tangling it in her long hair, she smelt like frost mirriam with a hint of lavender.  Ariella continued to cry when he decided to try to comfort her.

                "Hey, hey, stop crying, you're alright," Vilkas tried to pry Ariella away from his chest. Ariella continued to cry, and tried to cling back to his chest when he pulled away.

                "Hey, come on. Stop crying, you know it's not true," Vilkas said, continuing to pry Ariella away.

                    "No... No, it is true.. It's so true and there's nothing anyone can say to argue," Ariella choked between sobs and sniffles.

                "No, no it's not," Vilkas reached out to touch her face, but she pulled away.

                     "Yes, it _is_ ," Ariella pulled back and looked at him gravely, "It's all I've _ever_ done, Vilkas. I ran from my former master, I ran to Whiterun, protecting Rin along the way. I ran after they titled me Dragonborn, and I ran to Riften. In Riften, I... I got into some trouble.. And I ran. I ran to Falkreath, and I-"

                Vilkas cut her off, pulling her back into his embrace, "Ariella, hush. In the past several months, you have gone through more than most people do in a lifetime, it has to be so overwhelming."

                Ariella stopped crying, and continued to sniffle into his chest. Vilkas pulled back and cupped Ariella's face into his hands, "You don't have to keep running anymore, Ariella. You have the Companions. You have your sister. You have...  Me."     

                Vilkas longed to kiss her, to kiss her until all the tears went away, but he felt it wasn't the right time. He didn't want to risk upsetting her more. Ariella stared up at him with those sad gray eyes of hers, and all she felt was confusion. She couldn't understand how she went from calling him a gigantic ass one minute, and feeling nothing but captivated the next. She didn't speak, she didn't know what to say.

                "Come on, let's get you to bed," Vilkas urged gently, putting his arm around her, leading her back to the  camp. Rin was still fast asleep, thankfully not woken up by their arguing. Vilkas helped Ariella lay down onto her bedroll, and went to sit in the spot he was in before their argument.

                "Vilkas..?" Ariella quietly asked, turning over to look at him.

                    "Yes, Ariella?" He turned to gaze at her, she loved the way he spoke her name.

                "Could I.." She turned a light red, "possibly sleep next to you?"

                Vilkas smiled to himself, "Of course."

 

 

 

                Vilkas woke in the morning curled next to Ariella. The fire had burnt out, but his beast blood kept him warm. Ariella was close enough to the heat coming off of him that she wasn't shivering either. Vilkas nudged Rin and Ariella awake, they all gathered their things before setting back off. Ariella didn't say a word to him, he suspected because of Rin. They found their way back to the road to Whiterun, and trudged along it faithfully. They followed it for hours, until the snow cleared up and they came close to a farm.

                Vilkas knew it as the Loreius farm, the farm owner had called the Companions to deal with a pesky giant once, a long time ago. There was a wagon in the middle of the road with a broken wheel, and both girls urged Vilkas to stop to investigate the peculiar little man that stood by it.

                "Hello there, are you alright, sir?" Rin asked the man, who was dressed head to toe as a jester.

                     " _Aghhh!_ Bother and befuddle! Stuck here, Stuck!" The little man shouted, causing both Rin and Ariella to jump, startled, Vilkas cautiously reaching for the hilt of his sword.

                "My mother, my _poor_ mother, unmoving. At rest, but too still. Poor Cicero is stuck, _can't you see_? I was transporting my dear, sweet mother. Well not her, her corpse! She's quite dead," The little man Cicero giggled like a child, both sisters exchanged worried glances, "I'm taking mother to a new home, a new crypt! But _Aghh..!_ Wagon wheel, damnedest wagon wheel! It broke, don't you see??"

                Ariella was regretting stopping now, the quirky jester was a bit much to handle. But Rin insisted on helping him.

                "Is there anything I can do to help?" Rin asked, smiling politely at the crazy jester.

                    "Ohh! Oh yes, the kindly stranger can certainly help!" Cicero clapped and danced around, "Go to the farm, the Loreius farm. Just over there, off the road. Talk to Loreius, he has tools! He can help me! But he _won't!_ He _refuses!_ Convince Loreius to fix my wheel! Do that, and poor Cicero will reward you. With coin! Gleamy, shiny coin!"

                Ariella and Vilkas exchanged awkward glances, unsure of what quite to make of this. Rin nodded happily and skipped off towards the farm, Ariella shook her head and followed. By the time she caught up to Rin, she was already convincing Loreius to help.

                "He's a stranger who needs assistance. Please, do the right thing," Rin pleaded to the man, who Ariella assumed was Loreius. He didn't seem very friendly, with how he spit back at Rin, outright refusing.

                "You know you should help. Plus the sooner you help him, the sooner he'll be out of your way," Rin persuaded.

                     "Look, I.. I .. Yes, you're right. Feller might be nutters, might not. But fact is, he needs help. I turn him away, what kind of man am I, hmm? If you talk to Cicero, be sure to tell him I'll be right down to help soon," Loreius caved, walking inside of his home to grab his tools. Rin grinned when she turned back to Vilkas and Ariella, and she skipped her way back down to tell Cicero.

                "Cicero! I talked to Loreius, he's agreed to fix your wheel," Rin glowed as she told him.

                     "You did? He has?! Oh stranger! You have made Cicero _so_ happy! So _jubilant_ and _ecstatic!_ But more, even more! My mother thanks you! Here, here! For your troubles! Shiny, clinky gold! A few coins for a good deed. And thank you, thank you again!" Cicero danced, handing Rin a coin purse. Rin smiled and nodded a good bye, Ariella and Vilkas followed along after.

                "Hmm, did you say something, Arie?" Rin turned to ask.

                     "No? But how much gold did he give you? That looks like a lot," Ariella stared at the coin purse curiously.  Rin hadn't noticed how big the coin purse was until Ariella said something, she opened it and glanced in.

                "Whoa, there has to be at least five hundred septims in here," Rin stared at it surprised. Ariella gaped at her, unsure how to respond. Luckily, Vilkas did for her.

                    "I guess that means the next few drinks are on you then."


	14. Highly Advise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Companions hold Kodlak's funeral, and go to Ysgramor's Tomb to cleanse his spirit.

                      _"Before the ancient flame..."_

_"We grieve."_

_"At this loss..."_

_"We weep."_

_"For the fallen..."_

_"We shout."_

_"And for ourselves..."_

_"We take our leave."_

 

                Ariella hadn't paid much attention to what anyone was saying during Kodlak's funeral. _If maybe, we had gotten here a little sooner.. Walked a little faster_. She watched as Aela put a torch to Kodlak's pyre. She stared, enveloped in the fire. Mirmulnir howled within her, the fire was the only bit of comfort for the two of them.  The Circle members retreated to the Underforge together, leaving Ariella there as she watched the fire burn. She didn't notice Eorlund approach her.

                "I have a small favor to ask of you. I didn't have the chance to ask your sister when she gave me the fragments of Wuuthrad. There's another piece, that Kodlak always kept close to  himself. Would you go to his chambers and bring it back for me? I'm not sure I'm the best one to go through his things, and I know he trusted you," Eorlund asked her, Ariella wasn't sure she heard Eorlund speak so much since she met him.

                Ariella nodded and walked back into Jorrvaskr. She noticed Athis, Torvar and Njada sitting at the table, all staring at the fireplace quietly, hardly touching their mead. She didn't bother them when she went down the stairs and walked into Kodlak's chambers. It took several minutes of shuffling through his things until she finally found the piece she was looking for in the end table next to his bed. She snatched it up and noticed the leather bound journal, and couldn't help but peek inside. Ariella read through for a few minutes until she realized just how greatly Kodlak had thought of both Rin and herself.

                _'I have received few dreams over the course of my life, but when they come, I have learned to trust them. I have also learned to trust the instincts of my heart, which tells me that both Rin and Ariella can carry the Companions legacy together as truly as any residing in Jorrvaskr, especially with the loss of Skjor. Aela is too solitary, Vilkas too fiery, and Farkas too kind-hearted. Only the girls stand together as a true warrior who can keep a still mind amidst these burning hearts.'_

            Ariella almost dropped the journal, her mouth wide open. She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe it. Rin had prospered in her time alone, but Ariella thought of herself. _I'm part of a guild of thieves, and I love to do it.. What **honor** is in that? How can he see me so purely?_

                "Arie? Your sister asked me to come find you.. What are you doing in here?"

                Ariella jumped up and slammed the journal shut when Farkas spoke, "Oh! Uhm, Eorlund asked me to retrieve the final piece of Wuuthrad from in here, I was just.. Reading.."

                "Oh, well we're all in the Underforge, I can take you there if you'd like," Farkas said blankly, unlike his usual bubbly self.

                     "Alright, just let me return this to Eorlund first," Ariella walked back out of Jorrvaskr to the Skyforge, Farkas following along behind. Ariella quickly returned the last piece with a quick nod and followed Farkas to the Underforge, she knew she needed to speak to Rin. When they entered, they were welcomed by even more argument.

                "Being moon-born is not so much of a curse as you might think, Vilkas," Aela growled at Vilkas.  
                     "That's fine for you. But he wanted to be clean. He wanted to meet Ysgramor and know the glories of Sovngarde. But all that was taken from him," Vilkas growled back, taking a step towards Aela.

                "And you avenged him," Aela snarled, mimicking Vilkas' step and getting closer. Rin pushed herself between the two and tried to push them apart.

                     "Stop it you two!" Rin barked.

                "Kodlak did not care for vengeance," Farkas murmured mostly to himself.

                     "No, Farkas. He didn't. And that's not what this is about. We should be _honoring_ Kodlak, no matter our own thoughts on the blood," Vilkas sighed to himself. It seemed like no one noticed Ariella was there anymore.

                "You're right," Aela sighed in agreement, "It's what he wanted, and he deserved to have it."

                     "Kodlak used to speak of a way to cleanse his soul, even in death. You know the legends of the Tomb of Ysgramor," Vilkas pushed the idea.

                "There the souls of the Harbingers will heed the call of northern steel. We can't even enter the tomb without Wuuthrad, and it's in pieces, like it has been for a thousand years," Aela spoke bitterly.

                     "And dragons were just stories. And elves once ruled Skyrim. Just because something is, doesn't mean it must be. The blade is a weapon. A tool. Tools are meant to be broken, and repaired," everyone turned to see Eorlund had entered the Underforge, carrying a large battleaxe.

                "Is that..? Did you repair the blade?" Vilkas stammered, looking like he saw a ghost.

                "This is the first time I've had all the pieces, thanks to our Shield- Sister here," Eorlund looked to Ariella, "The flames of a hero can reforge the shattered. The flames of Kodlak shall fuel the rebirth of Wuuthrad. And now it will take you to meet him once more. The rest of you, prepare to journey to the Tomb of Ysgramor. For Kodlak."

                Eorlund then turned to Ariella, "As the one who brought the last fragment, I think you should be the one to carry Wuuthrad into battle."

Ariella stood goggling at the legendary battleaxe that was almost as big as she was. She took the axe that was handed to her, unsure of what use she would have for such a thing. She stumbled a little bit, she knew battleaxes weighed a lot, but definitely underestimated the weapon. The Circle all past on out, Ariella pulled Rin aside after everyone else had left.

                "You should see this," Ariella tugged on Rin's arm.

                     "Can't this wait until later?" Rin pulled away, trying to walk out of the Underforge.

                "You won't want to wait to read this, Rin," Ariella called to Rin as she walked out. Rin looked back at Ariella, and grabbed the journal out of her hands, "I'll read it while we pack." Rin turned and walked into Jorrvaskr.

                     "Do you really think I should go? I'm not even a part of the Circle.." Ariella asked quietly.

                "You're just as much a part of us as Kodlak was, plus you have Wuuthrad," Rin answered plainly, walking down the stairs and to the bedchambers, proceeding to throw things into a knapsack.

                     "But I--"

                "Ariella, you are coming with us. You are one of us, and I need you with me," Rin declared, ending the conversation.

                     "Will you at least read the journal?" Ariella pleaded. Rin sighed and sat down and begun to read the journal. Ariella knew when Rin got to the part that left Ariella speechless, due to the wide eyes and gaping mouth.

                "Where did you..?" Rin asked, giving Ariella a very surprised look.

                     "Kodlak's study.."

                "But that means..." Rin trailed off.

                     "He wants us to lead the Companions."

 

 

                The road there was long, and very quiet. No one spoke to each other for the longest time. If the snow wasn't bad enough, the icy water was even worse. Ariella broke through the ice twice, both times the Circle was too far ahead to notice. _At least they have their damn beast blood to keep them warm, bastards,_ Ariella thought to herself.

                She was grateful when she saw the Nordic tomb ahead, but wasn't so happy when she found it wasn't very much warmer inside. Once inside, she noticed everyone was waiting for her. She was pleasantly surprised, since this was the most hospitality she's gotten the whole journey there.

                "We need Wuuthrad placed in the Ysgramor statues hands before we can go on."

                _Or maybe not..._

                Reluctantly, Ariella lifted the battleaxe to the statue, and almost slipped backwards from the weight. Vilkas caught her and helped her place the axe in the statues hand, triggering a secret door to open. Ariella began to follow Rin inside the doors when Vilkas stopped them.

                     "This is the resting place of Ysgramor and his most trusted generals. You should be cautious."

                "You're not coming?" Ariella asked quickly, unsure of going any further.

                     "Kodlak was right... I let vengeance rule my heart. I regret nothing of what we did at Driftshade. But I can't go any further with my mind fogged or my heart grieved.." He spoke slowly, with a sad look to his eyes. Ariella reached out and touched his hand to comfort him, giving him a reassuring look and a shy smile before turning to follow Rin to the end.

 

 

                Ariella sat on the edge of the bridge near Chillfurrow farm, staring off into the water. It was dark, and it had been raining for about an hour. She thought about how everything was changing around her so quickly. Kodlak's death, her sister and her being left to lead the Companions, joining and quickly leaving the Thieves guild, becoming Dragonborn. There was so much that Ariella had to take in still, and it seemed to keep piling up. She was lonely, she missed her friends from Riften, she missed Rayya. She knew that despite the well-intentions of the Companions, that she was being pushed further and further away from them. She wanted to go back to Riften, but she knew no one would forgive her if she left so suddenly again, and she was afraid of Mercer's wrath. Going to Riften alone could very well end up with her dead body dumped in the Ratways.

                "Quite late to be sitting out here alone."

                Ariella jumped at the sound of Vilkas' voice, but she wasn't surprised that out of anyone who would come look for her, it'd be him.

                "It's a lot quieter out here at night," Ariella turned back to stare at the water. Vilkas scrambled up and sat next to her, they sat quietly together for several minutes.  Ariella was still thinking of Riften, thinking of her friends, she couldn't help but speak up.

                 "I need to go back to Riften," she spoke quietly, not meeting Vilkas' curious eyes.

                     "What for?" Vilkas asked, curious as to what she had been doing in Riften in the first place.

                "I.. Have some loose ends I need to tie up before I think of staying here.. I left so quickly, I need to fix things," Ariella hoped he would take that as an answer.

                     "What kind of 'loose ends' do you need to be fixing?"

                Ariella sighed, "I was supposed to do a job for a man named  Mercer. I was supposed to go to Solitude and shake down a man named Gulum-Ei for information. That's where I ran into Rin again, was my way back from Solitude. I need to go tell him what I've learned."

                Vilkas continued to watch Ariella, making Ariella feel antsy. He didn't speak or nod, he just watched her silently.

                "May I help you?" Ariella quickly turned to finally meet his gaze, and quickly turned red when she realized how close their face's were. She was usually angry when she got close to him, this was an entirely different situation. Vilkas must've been feeling the same, he blushed and turned away almost as fast as she did.

                     "Are you planning on going alone..?" Vilkas asked after a quiet minute.

                "I.. I don't think I should, I  think it'd be safer to go with someone," Ariella thought again of Mercer's anger.

                    "I will go with you if you would like," Vilkas offered, turning again to gaze at Ariella. Vilkas didn't want to admit that he was afraid of Ariella leaving again. He was afraid she wouldn't come back again, that she would suddenly decide to stay in Riften. He thought that _maybe,_ if he was the one who went with her, that he could show her that being with him was much better than anything Riften had to offer.

                Vilkas looked at Ariella, who stared back up at him with that quizzical look. She looked so beautiful with her wet hanging curls and sad eyes. He could feel her body shiver in the cold rain, despite it being Skyrim's warm season. Her skin looked pale blue in the dark rain, but her lips looked so red and warm and..

                "I will have to ask Rin what she wants, since she's Harbinger now," Ariella climbed off and stood on the road, looking back and waiting for Vilkas.

                     "You are _both_ Harbinger now," Vilkas corrected her, following her back towards Whiterun. Ariella snorted, and shook her head.

                "You don't want me as Harbinger, trust me."

                     "And why not?" Vilkas said, outpacing Ariella and cutting her off. Ariella stared at Vilkas a long time before she answered, no hint of emotion was in her eyes.

                "I joined the Thieves guild when I went to Riften. I became one of their best in three months, and they assigned me to go to Solitude. The night I left, I accidentally killed a woman, I was trying to protect a little orphan girl when I got angry and I shouted at the woman. She flew back and hit her head and died. That's why I left Riften. That's why I shouldn't be Harbinger," Ariella gently pushed Vilkas out of her way and walked around him, continuing on towards Whiterun. Vilkas didn't stop her again until she passed the stables.

                "But you said it was an accident. You didn't mean to kill that woman, and you were protecting an urchin in the process," Vilkas tried to argue, jogging to keep up with Ariella's fast paced walk.

                     "It doesn't matter. I killed her. She.. She was the headmistress at the orphanage down there.. I haven't even told Rin yet," Ariella said pushing through the Whiterun gates.

                "You saved a group of innocent children," Vilkas continued to defend his point.

                     "Vilkas, you aren't _getting it._ I _murdered_ a woman. There is no _honor_ in that. I flung her through the air like a sack of potatoes," Ariella kept walking towards the market. Vilkas caught her arm, and turned her to face him, getting really close to her face again.

                "Kodlak trusted you. Kodlak _believed_ in you. You left and he still believed you would do the right thing and come back. And you did. If Kodlak believed in you, so will I," Vilkas kept his eyes locked on hers and loosened his grip on her arm. Ariella shuddered and sighed, a frown crept onto her face.

                     "I guess you're right.. Come on, let's get into Jorrvaskr, before I freeze."

 

 

                "Are you sure this is the best time?" Rin sighed, she didn't want Ariella to leave.

                     "I can't put it off any longer. It's already been two and a half months since I left Riften, I need to go back. And I don't intend to do it alone," Ariella tried her best to be persuasive. Rin sat in what used to be Kodlak's favorite chair, her hand on her head, looking to be deep in thought. Ariella knew she didn't need Rin's permission to go, but she felt it was necessary.

                "Alright, but I'm going with you," Rin finally answered.

                     "Oh, Vilkas offered to come with me, if you want to stay. Though I am alright with you coming along too," Ariella smiled, butterflies filling her stomach.

                "We all can go. I'm sure Farkas will want to come as well. We can leave in the morning if you want," Rin offered with a smile.

                    "Alright, sounds perfect!" Ariella bubbled and bounced out of the study. She leapt up the stairs and found Vilkas sitting with Aela, Ria and Torvar, drinking mead. She pushed herself between Torvar and Vilkas, sitting close to Vilkas.

                "Good thing you showed up, Torvar, Aela and Ria have almost all drank their weight in mead," Vilkas looked at her, raising his eyebrows.

                     "Is that a fat joke?" Ria snickered, punching Vilkas accusingly. Aela and Torvar burst into laughter and offered Ariella a bottle of mead.

                "Well that's too bad, since I'm probably going to be doing the same," Ariella turned and sent Vilkas a flirty smile and a wink before chugging a whole bottle of mead. Torvar cheered and handed her several more bottles, Vilkas chuckled and took a couple for himself.

                "I guess I'm going to have to keep up with you all then," Vilkas grinned and met Ariella's eye.

                It didn't take long for them all to be cheerfully drunk, laughing and stumbling around. Ariella shared some of her drunken adventures in Riften, earning a proud pat on the back from Torvar and Ria. Rin came up the stairs once and said something, though Ariella wasn't quite sure what she had said, though it was something about Farkas. She just remembered offering Rin some mead while holding back a series of giggles, and Rin walking back downstairs laughing.

                It was getting late when Torvar, Aela and Ria decided to stumble their ways down the steps and off to bed, leaving Ariella and Vilkas alone. Together, they drank more and laughed like they had never laughed before in their lives. Ariella told Vilkas of all the jobs she had done in Riften, and how she suddenly became thane in Falkreath, and how her first 'order' as thane, she ordered her housecarl to tell her exactly what being a thane even meant. Vilkas found it quite amusing, seeing as he'd grown up in Skyrim, and everyone native of Skyrim knew what thane's did. They moved down closer to the fireplace, Ariella curled up next to Vilkas and leaned her head on his shoulder.

                "You are _so_ beautiful, you know that?" Vilkas complimented Ariella, running a gentle hand along her face, pulling her attention towards him.

                     "You really think so?" Ariella asked, gazing up at him with a drunken smile on her face.

                "Think so? _Everyone_ thinks so. It's just a fact," Vilkas smiled back, trying to focus on the beautiful woman in front of him, the seven bottles of mead in his system made it hard to focus clearly. Ariella giggled, falling into Vilkas' chest, trying to hide her blush. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her for as long as he could, Ariella continued to giggle.  "What any man would give to find a girl like you."

                Ariella pulled away and gave Vilkas a mischievous smile, "I have a question for you. About this whole _Harbinger_ thing."

                "And that would be?" Vilkas smiled back coyly.

                     "Can Harbingers give out orders? Or just _highly advise_ them?" Ariella asked, her eyes narrowed on him as she choked back another giggle.

                "Orders? No, because no one rules anybody in the Companions. You can 'highly _advise'_ them though I suppose. Why?" Vilkas mimicked Ariella's narrowed gaze, trying to figure out where this thought was going, but became captivated watching Ariella bite down on her lower lip.

                    "Oh? Well then, I _highly advise_ that you kiss me right now," She said, her gaze moving from his eyes to his lips and back flirtatiously. Vilkas could feel his heart stop, and the butterflies build up slowly in his gut, a feeling that has been away for a such long time. He nodded and licked his lips, drunk or not he wanted this to be special. He leaned down towards her, his hand cupping her face bringing it closer. All Vilkas could think was that just a _little_ closer and their lips would touch, for a kiss that he had been burning for, for a long time.

                The iron doors of Jorrvaskr slammed open, causing both Ariella and Vilkas jump back. They noticed Farkas walk through the doors, carrying two elk pelts, covered in rain water. Farkas quickly noticed them and turned his gaze to see the numerous bottles of mead on the floor, quickly realizing what was going on and grinning.

                "You got my brother drunk I see," Farkas held back a laugh. Ariella giggled and hid her blush, Vilkas grabbed a cork from a mead bottle and chucked it at his brother, completely missing.

                "I'll let you two get back to what you were doing," Farkas winked and gave an approving nod.

                        "Wait! We're all going to Riften in the morning, you, Rin, Vilkas and I. Just so you know," Ariella's words fell out in a jumble, maybe drinking so much _wasn't a great idea_. Farkas nodded and went downstairs, leaving the two alone again.

                "Now where were we?"  Vilkas chuckled and tried to lean down to kiss Ariella, Ariella dodged and got to her feet.

                      "No way! Moment over, maybe another time," Ariella winked at Vilkas as she turned and tried to walk to the stairs. After a few steps, Vilkas got up and they supported each other down the stairs. Ariella looked at the bedrooms sadly, she didn't want to be so far away from Vilkas. Like he read her thoughts, Vilkas spoke up.

                "I know you don't sleep well so.. If you'd rather, you could always come stay with me? I'll behave," Vilkas winked, but Ariella could sense the shyness in his voice when he offered. Ariella nodded and they stumbled off to his bedroom together, falling asleep as soon as they hit his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally beginning to heat up in our little Mead hall! Things will only get better from here!


	15. Oh, It's You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella, Rin, Vilkas and Farkas arrive in Riften. Ariella is reunited with her friends she has dearly missed, and reunited with someone she's not so eager to see.

                Ariella was most excited to see Riften's trees again. It was fun for her to watch Rin take in the new environment. It was cloudy out, but it didn't rain down on them riding on down the road in the carriage. She got antsy when they approached the Riften stables, Ariella was the first to jump down from the carriage. She walked slowly up to the gates, to where she was stopped again.

                "Hold there, before I let you int-- Oh, it's you. Go right on in," The guard waved her in. Ariella grinned and looked back at Rin, who gave her a confused look, but followed her in, being followed by Vilkas and Farkas.

                Ariella walked down the main road into Riften, nodding politely at a few passing people. She looked at the Bee and Barb, a place her friends and her would go every night to get drunk and bother the other people of Riften for giggles. For a first place to look for people she knew, the Inn was perfect. Ariella snuck in and quickly noticed Sapphire and Niruin, drinking together and laughing.

                "I'm gone for two and a half months and here you guys are, having all the fun without me," Ariella marched on up to her two friends. Sapphire registered who she was first, and sprung up and threw her arms around Ariella.

                "Rie, it's been so long! You just took off, what in Oblivion happened to you?! We all missed you, you look great!" Sapphire spoke so fast Ariella almost missed everything she said entirely. Niruin stood up and patted Ariella on the shoulder and smiled at her.

                     "It's good to see you're not dead," was all he said before offering her a bottle of mead. Sapphire took notice of the people standing awkwardly behind Ariella, and quickly scanned them over.

                "And who are these _lovely_ people accompanying you?" Sapphire grinned. Ariella was about to introduce them when she felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind, picking her up, and twirling her around twice. She let out this playful squeal, and she spun around to wrap her arms around Brynjolf, a man she missed very much.

                "Bryn! You know I don't like being picked up!" Ariella grinned and punched Brynjolf playfully.

                     "I couldn't help it lass, we all missed you so much. I missed you! Things aren't quite the same without your cynical drunken plans," Brynjolf smiled down at the girl.

                "This must be Brynjolf," Rin spoke up and held out a hand to introduce herself. Brynjolf took her hand and kissed it lightly, earning a growl from Farkas who was close behind her.

                     "Oh, Brynjolf. This is my sister Rin, and these two are Vilkas and Farkas. They're _Companions,_ " Ariella introduced them, "And this is Brynjolf, Sapphire and Niruin."

                "Pleasure to meet such well-regarded people," Brynjolf gave his best smirk, Sapphire waved and Niruin nodded. Ariella couldn't stop grinning, she was so excited to be back with her friends. A polite nudge from her sister brought her back down to reality.

                    "Bryn, do you know if uh.. Mercer is in the Cistern?" Ariella muttered quietly, trying to keep her voice down without others hearing. Brynjolf's face changed from happy to worry immediately.

                "Are you sure that's a wise idea lass? You know how Mercer is," Brynjolf pulled Ariella further from people, keeping his tone low.

                     "I need to finish this Bryn, plus I'm not here alone. And you know that Mercer will hear about me being in town anyways, it'll only anger him more if I don't go now," Ariella said firmly. Brynjolf sighed, he knew Ariella well enough to know she would argue this to the end.

                "Alright, but I wouldn't bring Big and Broody, over there, those two will make the guild nervous. Your sister should be fine though. We should go through the Ratway, Mercer would _kill_ if you brought someone down the secret entrance," Brynjolf hoped Ariella would agree. She nodded and turned back to Rin.

                "Rin, you come with me. You two," Ariella turned to the twins, "Wait here. Safety precautions. You won't like the crowd I ran with anyways."

                     "But--" Vilkas tried to argue, Ariella wasn't going to have it.

                "No buts. Believe me, it's safer for both of you and for me. Trust me," Ariella gave Vilkas a hard look until he stepped down. Ariella grabbed Rin's hand and followed Brynjolf down to the Ratways, Sapphire and Niruin following behind.

 

 

                Riften was a nice enough place Vilkas thought. The way Ariella looked at the town was a look he never wanted to forget. She practically skipped down the streets, hair flying on behind her. It was wonderful to see her so happy, he didn't think he'd ever seen her like _this_. They followed her to an Inn, where she hesitated before going in. She approached two people she knew and spoke to them like she had known them forever. He watched her smile down at them, she was so happy to see them.

                Vilkas wasn't so happy to see a man wrap his arms around Ariella's waist and spin her around, and even less happy to see her wrap her arms around his neck. He knew he was jealous, though he wouldn't admit it. He knew well enough that Ariella could make her own decisions. Farkas stood close to Vilkas, Vilkas could hear the low growl as the stranger kissed Rin's hand, making her blush and giggle. He put a hand on Farkas, making sure he held him back in case Farkas lost his temper.

                Vilkas kept a close eye on the man, Brynjolf Ariella had introduced him as, especially when he pulled her away towards the back of the inn. Ariella came back quickly with a determined look in her eyes.

                "Rin, you come with me. You two, wait here. Safety precautions. You won't like the crowd I ran with anyways," Ariella declared. Vilkas didn't like the thought of Ariella going anywhere without him to be there to back her up.

                "But--" He tried to convince her otherwise.

                     "No buts. Believe me, it's safer for both of you and for me. Trust me,"  She told him, giving him a strong look. Vilkas knew there was no arguing, and he knew that both Ariella and Rin could very well take care of themselves. He nodded, and watched her grab Rin's hand and walk out the door with Brynjolf and her two other friends.

                "Lets order some drinks," Farkas grumbled, sitting where Ariella's friends had been. Vilkas didn't argue that at all.

 

 

                "So Rie, who was tall, handsome and broody back there?" Sapphire asked, staying two steps behind Ariella, she was curious with Ariella's company.

                    "Oh? Who, Vilkas? What about him?" Ariella gave Sapphire a weird look, unsure what to make at her sudden interest.

                "He was handsome, and he looked like he wanted to rip Bryn's arms off when Bryn hugged you," Sapphire grinned, it was quite funny watching it all unfold.

                     "Oh.. He uh. Well he," Ariella wasn't quite sure what to say.

                "They argue like a couple, but they aren't 'together'," Rin cut in, glancing back at Ariella, who was too busy blushing to say anything.

                     "Oh!! Interesting! Has he kissed you?" Sapphire pushed.

                "Uh well, he uh.. We _almost_ did but, _we uh,_ were interrupted before anything happened," Ariella felt even more blood rush to her face, she was thankful the Ratways were so dark.

                     "What?! When did this happen?" Rin gasped, grabbing Ariella's arms as they walked into the Ragged Flagon.

                " _Uhhhhh,_ last night.." Ariella bit her lip, she was tired of all the prodding questions. Thankfully, they ended after they walked into the Cistern. Ariella saw Mercer there, he had looked like he was already waiting for her. He stood, leaned against a wall, over by the ladder to the secret entrance. He kept a straight face, and didn't take his eyes off of the wall in front of him.

                "Rin, stay here," She turned back to Rin, putting a firm hand on Rin's arm. She gave Brynjolf a look, hoping that he would keep Rin from interfering, or get her out safe if need be. Ariella turned and walked towards Mercer, trying to fake confidence. She knew he was angry, she didn't want to experience it firsthand.

                "Mercer," Ariella spoke his name as confidently as she could muster. She felt even more nervous when he didn't speak. He didn't even look at her, he stood up off the wall and hit her with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground. Ariella let out a cry, she heard Rin struggle to go through Brynjolf behind her.

                "Lass, it's not a good time to get in their way right now," Brynjolf pleaded to Rin, trying to keep a hold on Rin.

                Mercer kicked Ariella while she was still sprawled on the ground, "I sent you out on a job almost _three months_ _ago_. And here you are, wandering right in like you own the place. That kind of thing doesn't fly with me."

                Mercer kicked Ariella again, she grunted, but didn't fight back. She knew Mercer would only kill her if she tried to fight back, so instead she dealt with it. She had gotten worse before.

                "Worst part is, even after I figured you weren't coming back, I sent Vex to go shake down Gulum-Ei in your stead. But Gulum-Ei _refused_ to speak to her, said he had already spoken to _you_ and that he was more afraid of you than of _her_ ," He picked Ariella up by her hair and threw her.

                "Tell me what you learned," Mercer kicked Ariella again, she let out another cry.

                     " _Karliah!! Her name is Karliah_ ," Ariella cried out, shielding her face. Mercer pushed her so her head leaned over the waterway. He held her down by her neck with his foot, with one gentle push he could easily drown her or choke her.

                "What did you say..?" Mercer glowered down at her with an intense fury in his eyes she had never seen before. Ariella didn't have time to answer before Mercer was thrown off of her. Rin had Mercer pushed against a wall, dagger to his throat. Rin looked feral, the golden glint of beast blood lingered in her eyes.

                "If you _ever_ touch my sister like that again, _ever,_ " Rin hissed at Mercer, who squirmed in her tight grasp.

                    "Rin, let him go," Ariella spoke calmly, Brynjolf helped her lean up away from the waterway and up to her feet. Ariella shook while she stood, leaning on Brynjolf. Rin hesitated for a moment before letting Mercer free. She backed away and stood protectively next to Ariella, keeping a stern eye on Mercer.

                "Gulum-Ei said her name was Karliah, he said he was going to tell you," Ariella repeated herself, staying close behind Rin. Mercer sighed and began to pace, everyone kept their eyes locked on him.

                     "I haven't heard that name in decades... This is grave news indeed, she's someone I hoped to never cross paths with again. Karliah destroyed everything this Guild stood for, she murdered my predecessor in cold blood and betraywed the Guild. After we discovered what she'd done, we spent months trying to track her, but she vanished. If only we knew where she was..." Mercer rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.

                "Gulum-Ei said something about 'where the end began', if that helps," Ariella bit down on her lip, hoping to get back on Mercer's good side.

                "There's only one place that could be. The place where she murdered Gallus... A ruin called Snow Veil Sanctum. You are going with me there, before she disappears again. And this time, leave your _guard dog_ behind," Mercer glared at Rin and walked away towards his desk.  Ariella glanced back at Brynjolf, confused.

                      "Snow Veil Sanctum is northeast of Windhelm, be careful lass. Make sure you don't anger Mercer any more than he already is," Brynjolf furrowed his brows, giving a concerned look to each of the girls. Ariella touched Bryn's hand, sending him calm feelings.

            "I'll be fine Bryn, you know me, I got this," Ariella put on a smile for Brynjolf, but she knew he was right.

            Brynjolf chuckled, "Last time you said that, you disappeared for two and a half months. Just be careful. We love you down here lass, you're one of our best. Just come back safe," Brynjolf put a hand on her shoulder and walked back to the Ragged Flagon. Rin grabbed Ariella's arm, getting close to her face.

            "I do not want you going alone with him," Rin said, Ariella tugged her away and pulled her towards the secret entrance.

             Ariella thought up a plan as they walked back to the Bee and Barb, Vilkas and Farkas stood quickly, dropping their tankards when the girls entered. Vilkas quickly noticed the bruise that had already started to form on Ariella's face, and he rushed to her side to examine her.

            "What in Talos' name happened?" Vilkas tried to get a closer look at her bruise, but Ariella pushed him away, putting her hand on his arm, sending him a warning feeling.

                 "I'm fine. Alright Rin, what we are going to do. I am going to go ahead to Snow Veil Sanctum. I do not trust being alone with Mercer Frey more than I trust a dragon to not bite my head off, so you, Vilkas and Farkas can follow behind, about an hour's travel, keeping your distance. If things go wrong, you guys will be there. Does that work?" Ariella turned to Rin.

            Rin frowned, she didn't want Ariella to be anywhere near this man at all, let alone hiking through an old Nordic ruin with the man. He had already beat her once, there's no reason he wouldn't do it again. Rin nodded, she trusted Ariella could handle herself enough to get out of any bad situation.

            "Alright, I will head off now. Follow me in about an hour or two," Ariella turned to leave, Vilkas took her hand before she ran off.

                 "Be careful, Ariella."

            It was the most sincere look Vilkas had ever given Ariella, she knew he hated seeing her walk away. Vilkas was an intelligent man, Ariella knew he understood the risk of this quest, even if he didn't know all of the details. Ariella walked back to him and stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tender embrace. Vilkas had a hard time letting go, especially when Ariella sunk back down and lightly kissed him on the cheek. Their eyes lingered on each other for another few moments, before Ariella's hand pulled away from his and she left out the doors.


	16. It Would Be My Pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella goes to Snow Veil Sanctum and is stabbed by Mercer. The Companions and Karliah race to Windhelm to get Ariella extra help.

                Ariella had plenty of time to plan several strategies on the way to Snow Veil Sanctum. She could run fast and trigger traps to keep Mercer occupied while she ran. She could climb up somewhere and shoot him down with her bow, or use an invisibility potion to disappear and cut his throat. Many ideas went through Ariella's mind while she was on the road with no one to talk to.

                Ariella saw Windhelm in the distance, and looked at the freezing cold water that separated her and Snow Veil Sanctum. _Out of all places to be, it has to be with more snow_ , Ariella thought to herself spitefully. Ariella didn't have much option to go around, she was forced to swim across the icy water. It was even colder than she had hoped, and she was forced to trek up the hill for two miles in the wind up to the ruins. She passed a shrine of Arkay along the way, and quickly got its blessing. She prayed that it would keep her warm, though she knew it wouldn't.

                Ariella kept trudging through the snow until a campsite appeared, a dead horse next to it, and a warm campfire. Ariella stopped to warm herself when Mercer appeared next to her.

                "Good, you're finally here. I've scouted the ruins and I'm certain Karliah is still inside," Mercer didn't bother masking the excitement in his voice.

                     "Did you see her?" Ariella asked, shivering in the cold wind. Mercer huffed, annoyed.

                "No, I found her horse. She won't be using it to escape. Let's get moving, I want to catch her inside while she's distracted. Take the lead," Mercer commanded.

                     "You want.. Me to lead?" Ariella hesitated, unsure of how she felt about having him be behind her.

                "Oh, I'm sorry, I was under the impression I was in charge," Mercer growled at her, pushing her towards the ruins, "You're leading and I'm following. Does that seem clear to you? Just make certain to keep your eyes open. Karliah is as sharp as a blade. Last thing I need is you blundering into a trap and warning her that we're here.

                Ariella knew quickly that this would not be an enjoyable trip. Despite Mercer's insults, he continuously made constant noise, triggered several traps and went running after draugr. _He's worse than the twins,_ Ariella thought to herself. Ariella was pleasantly surprised by how much loot the sanctum held, including a quaint little wooden ship amongst several fire traps. Mercer didn't seem to mind her looting every burial urn she saw.

                Ariella could hear the Word Wall as soon as she entered the room. Unfortunately, several pots were placed to wake up four draugr as soon as they entered, Mercer pushed past her and took them all dead on. Ariella pulled out her bow to pick them off, but had a hard time concentrating on aim with the Word Wall chanting so loudly. Mirmulnir growled within her, anxious to make the chanting stop.  When the draugr were finally killed, Ariella found the wall as fast as she could. She had found several word walls during her time away from the Companions and had gotten used to its power blast. Mercer didn't ask what she was doing, nor did he care.

                They approached a puzzle door, and Ariella knew they wouldn't be able to move forward without the corresponding key. Mercer went to the door and said something about a weakness to exploit in the door. Ariella stood back and watched and sure enough, the door began to open. Mercer quickly stepped back behind her, Ariella peaked in to see a wide open chamber with several pillars in the back, something easy to hide behind. Ariella scanned the room a couple times and held her bow ready, but after two steps into the room, she was hit, _hard._  Ariella fell to the ground in pain, an arrow pierced her shoulder. She couldn't move to take the arrow out, she was stuck. She watched Mercer walk over her, and walk further into the chamber towards a Dunmer woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

                "Do you honestly think your arrow will reach me before my blade finds your heart?" Mercer growled at the Dunmer woman, Karliah, Ariella assumed.

                     "Give me a reason to try," Karliah spoke in an equally harsh tone.

                "You're a clever girl, Karliah. Buying Goldenglow Estate and funding Honningbrew Meadery was inspired," Mercer crossed his arms and watched Karliah's movements.

                     "'To ensure an enemy's defeat, you must first undermine his allies.' It was the first lesson Gallus taught us," There was a hint of sadness behind Karliah's voice, but she stood ready.

                "You always were a quick study."

                     "Not quick enough, otherwise Gallus would still be alive."

                "Gallus had his wealth and he had you. All he had to do was look the other way," Mercer hissed at Karliah, it was beginning to make sense now to Ariella.

                "Did you forget the Oath we took as Nightingales? Did you expect him to simply ignore your methods?"

                "Enough of this mindless banter! Come, _Karliah_. It's time for you and Gallus to become reunited!"Mercer drew his sword, and circled towards Karliah. Karliah pulled out a potion, and instantly became invisible.

                "I'm no fool, Mercer. Crossing blades with you would be a death sentence. But I can promise the next time we meet, it will be your undoing."

                Ariella watched as Mercer stood glancing around, looking for Karliah. Ariella began to heave, it was getting harder to breath, and she couldn't push herself up or take out the arrow. She watched helplessly as Mercer turned his attention back to Ariella, she wanted to move, to fight.

                "How interesting. It appears Gallus's history has repeated itself. Karliah has provided me with the means to be rid of you, and this ancient tomb becomes your final resting place. But do you know what intrigues me the most? The fact that this was all possible because of you. Farewell. I'll be certain to give Brynjolf your regards," Mercer grinned down at her, gazing at her proudly for a minute. Ariella did the one thing she could conjure herself to do.

                " _Zun!_ " She shouted, she knocking his dagger through the air.  She knew it wouldn't stop him, but she knew it sure would piss him off.

                     "You _stupid bitch,_ " Mercer growled, stabbing her in her stomach. Ariella was sure it would've hurt a lot more if she hadn't already been paralyzed, but it didn't stop her from slowly slipping into darkness.

 

                Vilkas was sulking along the road to Windhelm, he was still unhappy with leaving Ariella with this strange man.

                "Do you think she's okay?" Vilkas kept asking Rin, who insisted that Ariella knew what she was doing.  Though he was unsure. Ariella didn't tell him how she had gotten that bruise, or who had given it to her, but her touch calmed him. He would ask Rin, but Rin seemed quite fumed about the same thing. They were only a couple hours behind Ariella, but he felt she was so far away. He wished he could've gone with her, just to make sure she was safe.

                "What happened in there, Rin?" Vilkas finally decided to ask. Rin took a couple angry breaths before answering.

                      "I knew Ariella was afraid of the man, but she didn't tell me why. She made me stay back with Brynjolf, because she knew what would happen. The man didn't even _acknowledge_ her, he hit her so hard she fell to the ground. I tried to get past, but Brynjolf held me back. Apparently that sort of thing has happened before.  He kept kicking her while she was down, she didn't even fought back, she just _took it._ He had her head leaning over the edge of this waterway, foot on her throat. He could've drowned her, choked her, he could have crushed her throat. She didn't even fight it. I finally got free from Brynjolf then, and I was over so fast he didn't even know what hit him. I was ready to cut his throat when Ariella stopped me, and told me to let him go," Rin grumbled.

                "And you let her go with him?" Vilkas looked at Rin with such worry, this made all of his bad feelings worse.

                It was another hour before they finally had gotten to Windhelm. They crossed the icy water and hiked through the snow. Vilkas could smell Ariella's faint scent, though it was a couple hours old. But quickly a new scent rose, one that all three of them detected. _Blood._

                All three of the Companions took off running towards the scent, they all recognized it as Ariella's. They noticed the camp site ahead, and a dunmer woman quickly noticed them approaching and drew a dagger.

                "Stay back, I'm warning you," The woman hissed from under her hood, standing protectively over a tent.

                Rin noticed Ariella lying in the tent, and ran forward anyways, pushing the woman aside.

                "Arie! Ariella, wake up!" Rin screamed, shaking Ariella's body.

                     "Stop that, you'll open her wounds again!" The dunmer woman hissed, pulling Rin back. Rin got right into the woman's face, growling hysterically.

                "What did you do to her?" Rin growled, her eyes turning yellow.

                     "I _saved her life,_ " The woman hissed back. Farkas lightly pulled Rin back, Vilkas knelt close to Ariella and held her close. Her body was cold, but she was still alive.

                "What happened?" Vilkas looked up to the dunmer woman. The woman sighed, and walked a few steps away.

                     "My name is Karliah. I'm assuming she was helping Mercer hunt me. I.. I meant to hit Mercer with an arrow coated in a unique paralytic poison, but when I saw her in front of him, and didn't have a clear shot, I made a split second decision and hit her instead. I knew if Mercer did have his way, he would've killed her. My poison kept her from bleeding out, thus saving her life. Mercer stabbed her and left her to die, and I saved her and tended her wounds as well as I could, but I don't believe she can stay here for much longer," Karliah informed them.

                "Where do you suggest we go?" Rin asked her, still glaring at the woman.

                     "The best place that is close by is Windhelm, but I couldn't carry her that far myself. But now that _you're_ here, I'm sure we could make it there quickly," Karliah suggested, throwing some ingredients in a knapsack.

                Rin knelt next to Ariella, feeling her cheek, she knew Ariella wouldn't last long in the cold. Rin nodded to Vilkas, who carefully picked Ariella up into his arms. He held her close, hoping it would keep her warm.

                The hike back down was much easier , the wind to their backs. They made it through the front gates, but it was already late enough that the shops had closed.

                "Where do you suggest we go now, Karliah?" Rin asked Karliah, watching the elf carefully.

                     "Well... I know the court wizard, and I know he could help, but I'm not sure if they'd let us in," Karliah frowned, glancing towards the Palace of the Kings.

                "We have to try something, Ariella's getting pale," Vilkas spoke nervously, holding Ariella tighter. She hung so limply in his arms, it frightened him. Karliah nodded and led them to the Palace of the Kings, and like Karliah thought, they were stopped at the front doors.

                "Hold there, no one is to enter the Palace without the Jarl's permission," The guard stopped them, standing in front of the door.

                     "Please, we need to see Wuunferth," Karliah spoke up, hoping to convince the guard.

                "I'm sorry, but no one is allowed in after 8 pm. Come back in the morning," the guard stood his ground, folding his arms.

                      "Can't you _see_? My sister is _dying_ , you are going to let us in," Rin hissed at the guard. Another guard walked up and stood next to the first, with a hand on his hip.

                "Oh? And what makes your sister so special it's worth defying orders?" The second guard spoke. Vilkas fidgeted, pulling Ariella closer. Karliah looked back to Rin, unsure of what to say for the young wood elf she didn't know. Rin hesitated before she knew what to say.

                "She's the Dragonborn," Rin's eyes opened with realization. Both guards laughed, and shook their heads.

                "Dragonborn, eh? Prove it," one of the guards commented.

                     "That's kind of impossible since she's unconscious," Karliah growled, this conversation was going nowhere it seemed.

                Ariella moved slowly in Vilkas' arms, catching his attention. She had opened her eyes, but barely. She felt very weak, but she heard what was going on around her.

                " _Fus!_ " She shouted, it shot a pain through her entire body, but it knocked the guards back. She quickly fell back out of consciousness, leaned into Vilkas' chest.

                The guards stared with wide eyes at Ariella, one raced inside the doors. Minutes later, another man came out. Rin recognized him, she had seen him once before.

                     "Is this really the Dragonborn?" He spoke in his deep voice, turning to Rin.

                "By my title as Harbinger, I swear it," Rin spoke, staring into Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Windhelm's eyes.

                     "Bring her in, quickly. We will see to her at once."

 

 

 

                Ariella began to wake up the next morning, in a room she didn't recognize. It was dark in the room, but the sun was out. She slowly lifted herself up, placing each foot on the ground. Her body ached, but she took a look at her wounds, and most of them had been healed. She didn't know where she was, and that made her nervous, but she knew her friends were here, somewhere. She slowly got up, stumbling the first few steps before gaining her balance. There was a small dress on a table next to the bed, a pale dress with a brown corset, one similar to ones she'd seen in bars before.  Ariella slipped it on slowly, and looked about the room. She wanted to find Rin, and she stumbled towards the door. The halls were made of stone, but well lit. She stumbled towards the main hall, and bumped into someone as she entered it.

                Ariella's eyes widened after she bumped into a taller man, a nord, dressed in more noble clothing. She recognized this man, she had seen him once, a very long time ago.

                "I..I-I," Ariella stumbled back a step, not knowing what to say.

                     "It's good to see you are finally awake," Ulfric smiled at Ariella, "Tell me girl, how are you feeling?"

                Ariella stared up, unsure of what to say, "I.. Uh, I suppose I am better now?"

                Ulfric let out a chuckle and smiled at Ariella, "Well that is good to hear. Your friends were up most of the night worried about you. Let me introduce myself, I am-"

                "Ulfric Stormcloak, I know," Ariella cut him off, then quickly blushed when she realized she did. Ulfric didn't seem to mind, he smiled warmly down at her, something she didn't expect the man could do towards an elf.

                     "No surprise you've heard of me. I recognize your sister and you from Helgen, it's very convenient for you now, I suppose. Come, let me show you to your friends. Your sister said your name was Ariella, yes?" Ulfric put his arm around  her shoulder and led her down the hall.

                "Yes, Ariella. I suppose I should thank you for taking us in? Though I do not know exactly how we came to be _here,_ " Ariella stared at the floor, she didn't remember much after Mercer stabbing her.

                     "No need. It's my pleasure, truly," Ulfric gave Ariella a look, she couldn't quite recognize the emotion in his eyes. He led her down some stairs and into a room that looked like a war room, and then down another room and into the main hall. Ariella quickly noticed Rin, Vilkas and Karliah, sitting at a long table, Rin quickly noticed Ariella and stood.

                "Now this is where I shall take my leave, Ariella, I shall let you reunite with your friends for now," Ulfric smiled again, and pulled Ariella's hand and kissed it gently. Ariella turned red, Ulfric chuckled to himself and turned and walked back the way they had came. Rin had already made it to Ariella, wrapping both arms around her.

                "I was so worried, we are going to find that bastard, you hear me?" Rin spoke, trying to hold back tears. Karliah and Vilkas were behind her, Farkas stood behind them.  Ariella smiled to Rin and hugged her back lightly, and turned to Karliah.

                "You saved my life," Ariella said, giving Karliah a tender smile.

                     "That I did," Karliah smiled back softly, "and I could use your help to track Mercer."

                Ariella didn't hesitate to answer, "It would be my pleasure."


	17. Amulet of Arkay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella goes on pursuit to find Mercer, taking Vilkas along with her.

                "I understand.." Ariella says to Karliah, taking Gallus' journal.

                     "Do you intend to do this alone?" Karliah asked, unsure about Ariella's health.

                "I.. I don't think I should," Ariella said, glancing to the Companions.

                Karliah explained a lot of things when she had woken up. That she hadn't killed Gallus, that Mercer had. That Mercer had been hunting her for years, and that she had laid down the perfect trap for him until Ariella had come along. And now, she asked Ariella to go find Enthir, a friend of hers up in Winterhold. 

                Ariella walked to her friends, she knew they wouldn't let her go anywhere alone now. Rin glanced up at her and narrowed her eyes quickly.

                "You think you're going to go after him now, don't you?" Rin glared, she wasn't going to let Ariella go anywhere until she recovered.

                     "If I wait, Mercer will be gone so quickly I won't have a chance to stop him. I need to go after him," Ariella didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to.

                "I'll go with her, Rin," Vilkas circled the table and stood behind Ariella, who looked back at him and smiled.

                     "They need someone to keep things straight in Jorrvaskr anyways, Vilkas and I can go to Winterhold together and you and Farkas can go back to Whiterun, or wait here if you wish," Ariella touched Rin's bare shoulder, hoping that magic would convince her.

                Rin sighed, she didn't like the thought of her sister out traveling with such injuries, "Alright, but if you aren't back in two weeks, we are coming after you. We will stay here as long as we can."

                Ariella beamed and grabbed Vilkas' hand, leading him up to the bed room in which Ulfric had escorted her from. She quickly grabbed her armor and her weapons and set it on the bed.

                "Turn around!" Ariella told Vilkas with a big grin.

                     "For what?" Vilkas gave her a puzzled look.

                "I need to _change_ ," Ariella smiled coyly, "Unless, you know--"

                Vilkas turned dark red, nodded and turned around. He heard Ariella chuckle behind him.

                "No peaking!"

                Ariella didn't lie to herself, she kind of hoped he'd take the opportunity to peak. She liked Vilkas, and he's made it clear in his actions that he liked her too, though he never admitted it out loud, or actually made a move on her. She was a bit disappointed when he _didn't_ turn around.

                "Alright, all changed," Ariella notified him after she threw on a new tunic and a tight pair of trousers. Vilkas examined her after she changed, she looked so small. Ariella slowly put on a set of leather armor she had found in Snow Veil Sanctum, since her Thieves guild armor currently had been stabbed through by a sword. One strap had been giving Ariella struggle, Vilkas quickly floated over and knelt down next to her.

                "Here, let me,"  Vilkas spoke softly, tying down the strap with ease. Their eyes met, both of them came quiet, the only sound was their breathing. Vilkas reached out and brushed his hand along Ariella's face, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her ear. She felt butterflies to his touch, _could this finally be it?_

                Vilkas felt the same butterflies when he looked at her, he had been so worried that she wouldn't make it. And yet, here she was, smiling at him, without a care in the world. He couldn't help but touch her face, to push her hair back to see those eyes that shone like sunshine. He leaned in to kiss her, to finally have that kiss they had both been waiting for.

                "Ariella?" Rin knocked on the door. Vilkas and Ariella jumped back, Ariella glanced over to see Rin standing alone at the door.  "I uh. I brought you something, I thought you could use it."

                Rin handed Ariella an amulet, Ariella took a moment to examine it.

                "It's an amulet of Arkay.. It's supposed to boost your health, so you.. Well, you know. I just thought that maybe since.." Rin stumbled around over her words.

                "Thank you, Rin," Ariella got up and put the amulet around her neck. She hugged Rin tightly, Rin smiled and hurried back out.

                "Come on, we should get a move on," Ariella smiled sadly at Vilkas.

 

 

                Ariella was very tired after the trek to Winterhold. Vilkas constantly offered to take breaks, though she didn't want to risk losing time. When they finally arrived to Winterhold, Ariella was glad to be inside the Inn, where it was warm and they had plenty of food. They gained no knowledge about Gallus' journal from Enthir, except that it was encoded in the Falmer language and the only person who knew how to translate it was all the way in Markarth. Enthir said he would travel to Windhelm for Karliah, but insisted they hurry to get Calcelmo's research. They didn't have much choice but to go after it, but Vilkas insisted on at least spending the night in the inn.

                Ariella didn't want to stay at first, but decided when they offered a room with a shared bed and with a nice warm bath, that maybe it wasn't the _worst_ idea. Besides, it was cold and snowing hard outside. Vilkas helped Ariella set up a bath, but quickly made an escape to the tavern part of the inn for drinks. Ariella didn't mind, the warmth of the bath distracted her. She stayed in the water until it was no longer cold, she went to throw on clothes behind a dressing screen when Vilkas came in.

                "Oh, I uh.. I wanted to know if you wanted me to um.. Buy you something to eat.." Vilkas stuttered nervously after he saw Ariella behind the screen. Ariella threw on a long tunic, that covered up to her mid-thighs.

                "I would love that, could you bring it in here for me?" Ariella smiled at Vilkas, who began to burn up in the face after seeing Ariella's long exposed legs. He nodded quickly and turned and left back to the tavern. Ariella giggled and sat on the bed, noticing a book on the side of the bed. She picked it up and stared at the cover when Vilkas brought in a tray of food. Ariella quickly popped up and followed Vilkas to a table. He had brought her grilled chicken, some ale, cheese, potatoes and a sweet roll. She quickly began eating when she noticed he wasn't doing to same. He had only bought enough for her, she noticed.

                "Are you not hungry?" Ariella asked curiously.

                     "You need to eat to regain your strength," Vilkas stated plainly.

                "Ohhh, come on. You need to eat to, to keep up your strength," She gave him a wink, but he didn't budge. She decided to pick up some chicken and shove it up to his face. Vilkas looked at her like she was crazy, but she just smirked at him.

                "Eat," She smiled at him. He raised an eyebrow at her, she didn't budge until he took the food. Ariella giggled as she watched him eat the chicken, Vilkas rolled his eyes at her.

                "Come on, have some more, I'll share," Ariella continued to prod him, pushing the tray closer to him. Vilkas huffed in defiance, but he gave in to Ariella's wishes.

                Ariella decided this wasn't enough though, and decided to break off a piece of cheese and hit him square in the forehead with it. Vilkas gave her a playful warning look, in which she jumped up and ran to the bed. Vilkas laughed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, and followed her, laying on the opposite side of the bed.

                "Will you read this to me?" Ariella asked him, handing him a book. Vilkas glanced at the book, _Walking the World, Vol XI: Solitude_. He looked back down at Ariella, who had wrestled her way underneath his arm and grabbing hold of his tunic. She smiled up at him, and her eyes shone, and he knew he couldn't possibly argue with that.

                Vilkas began to recite each paragraph out loud to her, until he reached the end of the book. He closed it, and set it beside him, and looked down at Ariella, who had so peacefully fallen asleep next to him. He smiled to himself, _maybe this adventure won't be that bad after all_.

 

 

                Ariella had no problem breaking into Calcelmo's laboratory. She had done _everything_ to persuade him to let her see his work, but he tried to send her to kill some giant spider, and Ariella was not planning on doing that. She pickpocketed his key and walked into his museum like she owned the place. A couple guards asked about her, but she insisted Calcelmo had let her in and showed them the key she had 'borrowed'.

                Breaking into his lab was a little bit different, these guards knew she was up to no good. Lucky for her, there were tons of dwemer traps she triggered, and every guard went running. Luckily no one got hurt, but she did kindly take their soul gems, gold and a peculiar puzzle box she was sure Delvin would take a liking to. She successfully got an etching of Calcelmo's research and snuck by the guards who had been sent in to find her. But getting out was much harder. Ariella knew she wouldn't be able to go back through his museum now, and the only other way seemed to be jumping down from a waterfall.

                She decided to try to climb some of the way down to risk injury, and ended up slipping about halfway down. Lucky for her she landed in the water, only with a couple bumps. She found Vilkas and insisted that it would be better to find a place to stay outside of the city.

 

 

                The several nights of traveling back to Windhelm, Ariella became increasingly frustrated. She liked Vilkas, but waiting for the 'right moment' with him seemed to be impossible with all the interruptions. After his attempt in Windhelm, he didn't try once on the whole journey. She felt he was just giving up on trying.

                When they arrived in Windhelm, sure enough, Enthir was there. With the journal finally translated, Karliah and  Ariella had the evidence they needed to go to Riften. Karliah told Ariella to plan on resting for a few days before they went back to Riften, and she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and see the city with Rin. Ulfric offered to escort them both through, but Ariella politely declined, Ulfric gave her a kiss on her hand again and took his leave.

                "Do you fancy him?" Rin asked as they walked through the market, looking through all the stalls.

                     "Who do you speak of?" Ariella asked, not paying much attention.

                "Ulfric, he's been making advances on you. Don't say you haven't noticed, you glow like fire salts every time he kisses your hand," Rin nudged Ariella asking for her attention. Ariella sighed, she didn't want to over think all this. She had hoped he was just being kind, though she had to admit he was handsome.

                "I find him handsome, yes," Ariella said bluntly, hoping it would end the conversation.

                     "That's not what I asked though. What about Vilkas?" Rin persisted.

                "Vilkas.. He.." Ariella sighed, "I like Vilkas, I'll admit it. But he's had several opportunities to express his feelings. Sometimes we're interrupted, but other times it's like he.."

                     "You don't think he's going to make his move," Rin frowned. She knew what that was like. Farkas had made it clear he liked her, and he had gotten territorial over her, but wouldn't make any sort of move toward her.

                "He's tried several times, but after the last, he's seemed to have.. Given up.." Ariella spoke each word carefully.

                     "What are you going to do then?" Rin asked, feeling sad for her sister.

                "If Vilkas doesn't want to further things, I may not have a choice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could a new love interest be possible?


	18. I'll Miss You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella and Vilkas meet Karliah at the Ragged Flagon to bring evidence of Mercer's treachery to the Guild.

                Karliah met Ariella in the Ragged Flagon, Vilkas and Ariella met her there. The Flagon was quieter than usual, everyone seemed to be minding their own business, something that people didn't do in the Flagon. Ariella knew that something was wrong, despite Karliah insisting that no one recognized her. They walked as casually as they could towards the cistern. Ariella could tell Vilkas was uncomfortable being surrounded by thieves, but she knew he wasn't going to leave her side. They walked into the cistern together and sure enough, Brynjolf, Vex and Delvin were standing in their way. All of them had their weapons drawn, and Ariella had her ebony sword out in an instant.

                "You better have a _damn good_ reason to be here with that murderer," Brynjolf growled, glowering down the three as they walked in.

                Ariella growled back and stood in front of Karliah protectively, "Any of you lay a blade on her, you'll have to kill me first.

                "It'd be my pleasure," Vex glared at Ariella.

                     "Please, lower your weapons so we can speak," Karliah pushed past Ariella and walked up to Brynjolf cautiously, "I have proof that you've all been misled!"

                "No tricks, Karliah, or I'll cut you down where you stand. Now what's this so-called proof you speak of?" Brynjolf hesitantly put his sword away, Vex and Delvin doing the same, despite Vex continually glaring at Ariella.

                     "I have Gallus' journal. I think you'll find its contents disturbing," Karliah held out the journal to Brynjolf until he took it a minute later. He glanced through, they watched his face become shocked.

**"** No, it... can't be... This can't be true, I've known Mercer too long..." Brynjolf hesitated to believe the journal's contents, gently handing it back to Karliah.

                     "It's true, Brynjolf. Every word. Mercer's been stealing from the Guild for years, right under your noses," Karliah frowned, taking the journal back.

**"** There's only one way to find out if what the lass says is true. Delvin, I'll need you to open the

vault," Brynjolf sighed, leading everyone towards the vault.

                     "Wait just a blessed moment, Bryn. What's in that book? What did it say?" Delvin asked.

                "It says Mercer's been stealing from our vault for years. Gallus was looking into it before he was

murdered," Brynjolf replied plainly.

 

                     "How can Mercer open up a vault that needs two keys? It's impossible. Could he pick his way in?" Delvin became completely bewildered.

                "That door has the best puzzle locks money can buy. There's no way it can be picked open." Vex

                     "He didn't need to pick the lock," Karliah spoke up quietly.

                Ariella quit paying attention at this point. She just stood back and waited while Delvin and Brynjolf

fumbled with keys and unlocking the vault's door. She wasn't at all surprised when Brynjolf ran in,

frantically looking around in shock.

                "By the Eight! It's gone, everything's gone!"

                Brynjolf, Vex and Delvin exchanged several shocked responses, Ariella leaned back into Vilkas,

all this talk was senseless to her. She just wanted to know when she'd get to rip Mercer's throat out. After

several minutes of Vex threatening to kill Mercer and the initial shock faded away, Brynjolf told Vex and

Delvin to watch the Flagon. He approached Ariella, with a guilty look to his face.

                "Look, before I have you help track Mercer down I need to know what you learned from Karliah. I

mean everything," Brynjolf spoke slowly.

                "Mercer killed Gallus, not Karliah. He also tried to kill me. Karliah was behind Goldenglow and

Honningbrew. And Gallus, Karliah and Mercer were Nightingales," Ariella rambled off impatiently.

                Brynjolf sighed, "Then I have an important task for you. I need you to break into Mercer's home

and search for anything that could tell us where he's gone."

                Ariella nodded and got the location of the house and quickly left, blowing off Brynjolf's warning to

be careful. It was time to act.

 

 

                After Ariella brought back Mercer's plans that he had stashed in a secret room of his home,

Brynjolf finally decided that Mercer deserved death, after attempting to kill both Ariella and Karliah,

betrayed the Guild, murdered Gallus and risked their futures. Karliah warned them about Mercer's power,

as an Agent of Nocturnal. She dictated that they meet him on 'equal footing', and asked Brynjolf and

Ariella to meet her outside Riften near the old standing stone. She remained mysterious as to why, and

left before Ariella had the chance to ask.

                Vilkas followed Ariella persistently, not taking his eyes off of her if he could help it. He refused to

wait outside the Nightingale hall even though Karliah insisted upon it, and stood by even when Karliah

summoned Nocturnal. Vilkas was curious about the Nightingales, but was disinterested when it came to

Daedra. It was just a Nord thing to him.

                Ariella was a bit more excited about the ordeal. To get free armor and have the blessing of a

Daedric prince? That was something worth getting excited over to her. It also didn't hurt that she got to

see Brynjolf shirtless when he changed armor, though Vilkas quickly noticed her checking Brynjolf out

and grew jealous.

                After a very lengthy conversation Karliah had with Nocturnal, with her offering both Ariella and

Brynjolf in life and in death, Nocturnal accepted Karliah's conditions, giving them her blessing. Karliah

began to explain that Mercer got around using the skeleton key, a Daedric artifact that is used as a

lockpick,  and that he had stolen it out of the Twilight Sepulcher. She continued to explain that it was

why the Guild had been having so many luck problems, and that they would continue until they

returned it.

                Ariella wasn't looking forward to the trip, Karliah said they would be hiking up to Irkngthand, a Dwemer ruin closer to Windhelm and Whiterun than Riften. It was even knee deep in snow, Karliah had added. Ariella hadn't explored a Dwemer ruin yet, she wasn't sure if she was ready to.

                "Ariella? May I speak to you for a moment?" Karliah pulled Ariella aside, away from Vilkas and Brynjolf, who stood awkwardly near each other.

                "What is it Karliah?" Ariella gave her a puzzled look.

                     "Where we are going, Irkngthand, we need to do this together. Meaning you, Brynjolf and I. You need to leave the Companion behind. It will be safer in the long-run for him," Karliah tried to soften the blow. Ariella frowned and looked at Vilkas, scanning every inch of him. He would try to refuse her, but she knew he would give to her. Ariella nodded, without saying a word. "Brynjolf and I will wait for you outside. Take as much time as you need, but remember we must hurry if we hope to catch Mercer."

                Karliah took Brynjolf ahead, like she said, leaving Vilkas and Ariella alone. Vilkas stood gawkily, smiling at Ariella nervously. Ariella smiled back sweetly and walked to him slowly, she didn't know what to say. It would be hard leaving him behind.

                "What is it, new blood?" Vilkas spoke shakily, like he had seen a ghost. Ariella thought it may have been from Nocturnal.

                    "Vilkas.. I uh.." Ariella's mind came to a blank, all words vanished. The way he looked at her, so tenderly, it made her feel guilty. She wanted nothing more than to have him with her in the ruins, "Karliah, she says you need to stay.. Well, not here, but.."

                "I.. Understand," Vilkas said sadly, but he didn't argue.

                     "I'm sorry.. I would love to have you with--" Ariella frowned, and gazed down at the ground.

                "Ariella, I understand, there's no need to defend yourself. This is all too much.. Daedra-ish for me. I will go to Jorrvaskr," Vilkas faked a smile for her. It didn't make her feel much better.

                     "I.. I'll miss you," Ariella turned red, embarrassed of her words and feelings. Vilkas wrapped her in his arms and held her tight, running his hand through her hair.

                "And I will miss you. Just.. Come back safe," Vilkas comforted her gently, he was afraid to leave her alone, but he had gotten to know a little bit about this Karliah woman to know she'd keep Ariella safe. Ariella pulled back and put on the best smile she could and held out an inviting hand to Vilkas. Vilkas smiled to himself, and took her hands, she weaved her fingers through his, leading him back out of the sanctuary.

                Watching Ariella leave with Brynjolf and Karliah was hard for Vilkas. Ariella glanced back and waved goodbye at him when they took off jogging down the road, Vilkas smiled back sadly and waved back at her. He watched her until they were long gone from the horizon, into the night.

                _Just come back alive, Ariella. Please.._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was such a short chapter, it took me a long time to write (It got very boring). But that's okay, because next chapter will be quite long in comparison and really exciting! Don't miss it!


	19. A Second Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three Nightingales hunt Mercer Frey down to Irkngthand, tracking him within the dwemer ruins until he meets his demise.

                They were running out of time, the water was rising higher by the second. Ariella panicked, she was not a fantastic swimmer, she didn't know how long she could keep treading water. Brynjolf and Karliah were doing the same thing, all of their eyes spun around in frenzy, searching desperately for an escape. The door slammed shut, Mercer was likely to bring them along to their deaths. Ariella thought over everything that had happened, and she wasn't sure how to feel.

               

                The three Nightingales made it to Irkngthand, and Karliah hadn't been exaggerating when she said it was knee deep in snow. They had run into a frost troll and a pack of wolves before getting there, only to find the entrance guarded by bandits as well. It was clear this would not be a simple mission.

                It was different for Ariella, to fight with two other thieves like herself, who were skilled in sneaking instead of barging into the open, lofting a greatsword at anyone standing in the way. They all snuck together, hid and took out enemies one by one, and usually only one of them would be spotted, and they were quick enough to bring a blade across the bandit's throats before others were aware of their presence.

                Inside the ruins, they had an easier time. The first room they entered, all of the bandits were already dead. Karliah assumed this was Mercer's doing, Brynjolf and Ariella quickly agreed. Ariella managed to snag a few potions from the dead  bandits, they wouldn't be needing them anymore. They kept following the corridors until Ariella spotted a circular mechanical object, rolling out of a pipe and spinning in place. She was mystified by it, though Brynjolf didn't seem to notice it. When they walked closer, the sphere opened up and transformed into a more human form.

                "Dwarven Sphere!" Karliah shouted, pulling a sword out and charging it. The sphere began to attack her, Brynjolf and Ariella pounced to her defense. Two little mechanical spiders crawled from around a corner, joining the attack. Ariella kicked one into a wall, it smashed and died, Brynjolf stabbed the other through its body and it quickly died as well. The sphere took a little more time, but their combined efforts quickly destroyed it too. Ariella picked out a few gems and soul gems from the remains, and followed Brynjolf and Karliah on down.

                They continued on, dealing with a couple more mechanical creatures, but this time Ariella knew not to be so curious. They seemed to be going downwards, further underground. After evading a trap or two, they came to this large open cavern. They were close to the top of the cavern on an overhang, behind a large metal grate. They could see through them into the bottom of the cave, where there were all these peculiar tents. Ariella noticed the small pale creatures at the bottom of the cave, but hadn't ever seen them before.

                "Wait a minute... It's Mercer! Look, down there!" Karliah pointed down into the southern end of the cavern, "He's toying with us, he _wants_ us to follow."

                Ariella took that as a sign to keep moving, they were beginning to gain on him. She was quite startled when the first Falmer attacked her. She had never seen this twisted little creatures before, but she had heard of them. It didn't take but a few seconds for her to plunge her dagger into its chest. They encountered more and more of them along the way down, they seemed to come out of nowhere. They ended up finding a huge encampment of them, which they to go through and kill each falmer. They had been down in the ruins for hours, rushing through. They finally came to a large set of doors when Karliah brought them to a halt.

                "He's close, I'm certain of it. We must prepare ourselves," Karliah warned, unsheathing her sword.

                     "Then this is it. We do this for Gallus and the Guild," Brynjolf added. Ariella nodded in agreement and pushed the doors open gently, just enough for them all to sink through without a sound.

                "He's here and he hasn't seen us yet.. Brynjolf, watch the door," Karliah commanded, glaring at Mercer Frey, who was attempting to pull out two large gems out of the snow elf statue that filled a good part of the room.

                "Aye, lass. Nothing's getting by me," Brynjolf assured her, unsheathing his sword and standing close to the door.

                     "Climb down that ledge and see if you can..." Karliah was cut off by Mercer's booming voice.

                "Karliah, when will you learn you can't get the drop on me?"

                Mirmulnir growled when Ariella met eyes with Mercer Frey, he craved his blood. Ariella was planning no less than satisfying Mirmulnir's pleas. Ariella didn't expect the ground underneath her feet collapse, leaving her down with Mercer Frey alone while Karliah stood up on the ledge above with Brynjolf. Ariella pulled herself up and shook herself off while Mercer strut down to a lower part of the statue.

                "When Brynjolf brought you before me, I could feel a sudden shift in the wind. And at that moment, I knew it would end with one of us at the end of a blade," Mercer spoke haughtily, taunting Ariella.

                     "If _anyone_ falls, it will be _you_ ," Ariella growled, she wasn't sure what feeling she felt more, vengeance or fear. She craved to feel Mercer on her blade, but she knew Mercer was a powerful foe, and she would likely not be able to fight him alone, but thankfully she had Karliah and Brynjolf above her.

                "Then the die is cast, and once again my blade will taste Nightingale blood!" Mercer boomed, adrenaline filled Ariella's veins. Mercer turned to look up at Karliah after unsheathing his dwarven sword and a dagger and began to taunt her, "Karliah, I'll deal with you after I rid myself of your _irksome_ companions. In the meantime, perhaps you and Brynjolf should get better acquainted."

                Under some strange magic, Brynjolf began to attack Karliah. Ariella could hear Brynjolf say he couldn't control it and apologize over and over, but Ariella stopped paying attention to them once Mercer disappeared, becoming invisible. Ariella glanced every direction shielding herself with her sword. She waited until she could see the ripples in the water from him running at her before she shouted.

                " _Yol!_ "

                Mercer reappeared, shielding his now burnt face. He said some curses, giving Ariella the chance to dart up the stairs around him, so she'd have her back against the wall. He couldn't surprise her from behind. She listened as hard as she could, but she heard him too late. She barely blocked his sword, he threw his dagger away and punched her in the gut with his off hand. Ariella grabbed her dagger with her free hand and cut him along the stomach, not deep enough to do damage, but enough to make him jump back.

                Ariella was out of breath and her chest hurt, and she prayed for someone to help. She wished Vilkas were here, he would be able to help her. She could see Mercer get back to her feet and she outstretched a hand, calling to any magic to aid her.

                There was a light flash, Mercer stumbled back away, while a fire built up and took form of a woman. Ariella hadn't ever conjured an atronach before, but occasionally summoned weapons but wasn't near the level she needed to be at to summon atronachs.  The atronach jumped to her aid, launching fireball after fireball at Mercer. Mercer dodged as well as he could, but couldn't avoid every attack. Ariella used the opportunity to regain her stability, and leapt up. Dodging the atronach's fireballs, she dove into Mercer, tackling him to the ground. She punched him in the face, it felt good to punch him after the beating he gave her. He threw her off, and tried to get up, but tripped and barreled down the steps.

                The atronach continued to launch spells at him, Ariella bolted after Mercer. He flung around, slashing his sword at Ariella, she parried off each attack. She dug her dagger into his gut with her off hand, Mercer let out a loud yelp. She kicked his feet from underneath him in one swift movement, and he fell down on his back against the stairs. Ariella wasted no time plunging her sword into Mercer's chest.

               

                That's when the chamber began to fill with water.

                "Damn! This place is coming down! Quick, get the Skeleton Key and the Eyes and let's get out of here!" Karliah urged Ariella to hurry as water poured down from above. Ariella took Mercer's sword and dagger, rummaged through his pockets until she found the Eyes of the Falmer and the Skeleton key.

                     "No luck there, lass. Something must have fallen on the other side of the door, it isn't moving!" Brynjolf spoke with nervousness clouding his voice.

                "We have to find another way out of here before the place fills with water!" Karliah shouted, now equally nervous. Ariella ran up the stairs and behind the statue and circled the chamber, there was no other exit. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of its chest.

                     "There's nothing!" Ariella shouted back to them, the water was already at waist level at the bottom of the chamber. Karliah and Brynjolf jumped down, and Karliah took a turn running around the statue, coming to the same conclusion.

                "I don't want to die in here lass," Brynjolf spoke more frantically, also running around the stairs, glancing in every direction.

                The water had started to lift them off their feet.

                Ariella swam to the stairs and climbed up halfway. _The less time swimming the better_ she thought. Karliah and Brynjolf followed her up, Ariella watched their expressions change from fear to frenzy.

                There was no way out, they were stuck.

                                The water was up past the door they had entered in now.

                Ariella's thoughts raced through, she thought of every spell, every shout she had ever learned. Nothing would save her, nothing would save them. She prayed to Nocturnal, she prayed to each Divine, to each Daedric Prince she could think of. _Anything._

                                 The water was more than halfway up the chamber.

                Ariella peeked under the water but couldn't see well. She could see a body hanging limp in the water, Mercer Frey she thought. She kept track of Brynjolf and Karliah, who were still scanning the chamber desperately. Ariella began to sob hysterically while she tread the water, she didn't want to die.

                "I can't _die here_ _Karliah_! I can't leave my sister! I'm the _Dragonborn_ , I have to protect people! I never got the chance to tell Vilkas how I felt about him," Ariella rambled on.

                                The water was to the statue's shoulders.

                Every body Ariella cared for flashed through her mind, all of her memories came up at once.

                                The water covered the statue's head.

                 They were running out of room, Ariella was preparing her last goodbye's to the world. They only had a few feet of air left when Brynjolf shouted, and Ariella heard rocks splashing into the water.

                "Look! A way out!" Brynjolf shouted, eagerly swimming to the new exit that had opened above the statue's head.

                Ariella and Brynjolf pulled themselves up onto the ledge above while the water filled up, both of them collapsed to the ground in complete gratefulness. Ariella glanced around for a second until she noticed Karliah wasn't there.

                "Karliah!" Ariella screamed at the water, diving back into the water.

                She saw Karliah underwater, trying desperately to swim to the exit, but was running out of breath. Ariella swam to her and pulled her along, hauling her out of the water. Karliah coughed out water and gasped for air, collapsing to the ground.

                     "You... You saved my life.." Karliah spoke between gasps, gazing up at Ariella.

                "Call it repayment for saving mine," Ariella smiled, pushing out a laugh. She laid back into the wet mud, but she didn't care. It felt so _good_ to not be dead.

                     "Ariella?" Karliah spoke again a few minutes later after recollecting her breath.

                "Yes, Karliah?" Ariella looked up from the ground, to notice Karliah staring into the ground.

                     "Do me one favor," Karliah paused.

                "What does this entail?" Ariella's eyes narrowed on her.

                     "Go speak to Vilkas, _please_. I.. I have lost the one I love, and that is something I have yet to get over.. He needs to know, Ariella. When you are done, we can deal with the Key. But for now, go find him," Karliah pleaded, Ariella could see the grieving sadness that lingered deep in Karliah. Ariella knew that she had to listen to Karliah, that this was the second chance she had at living. Ariella stood up, strong and confident, and held out a hand to Karliah.

                "You may want to get the mud out of your hair before you go confessing any feelings, lass," Brynjolf joked from behind them. Ariella laughed, and knelt near the water, getting all the mud out of her hair as Brynjolf suggested. The three Nightingales walked out of the cave together, into the snowy woods.

                "Looks like we're just west of Windhelm, if we follow the river down, we can get to Windhelm and Ariella can go to Whiterun from there," Brynjolf suggested. The girls agreed with his suggestion and followed the river, shivering in the freezing snow.

                They made it down to Windhelm in two hours, they decided to stop at the general store to buy a new set of clothes so they wouldn't freeze any further. Karliah and Brynjolf gave Ariella a farewell, promising to meet her in Riften, waiting for her return. Ariella thought about her next move, and decided to stop at the Palace of the Kings to see if she could convince Ulfric to spare her a meal, which she was sure he would.

                The guards let her in with no hesitation, recognizing her from her last visit. It was noontime,  Ariella expected Ulfric to be sitting on his throne in the court or eating lunch, and was surprised not to see him, or his steward and housecarl. The only people in the court room were a few servants, tidying up, and a couple guards. Ariella wandered towards Ulfric's war room, which lead up to the quarters upstairs, which is where she assumed he would be then. It wasn't until she heard conversation that she stopped and began to eavesdrop.

                "She would be a powerful ally indeed, Ulfric," Ariella recognized Galmar's rough voice immediately. She wondered who they were speaking about.

                    "That I know already. Jorleif, what is your opinion on this?" She heard Ulfric asking.

                "Well she indeed would be a powerful war ally, but what after that? When the war is won, what of her then? Ulfric, the people will love her once this is over with, despite her heritage." Jorleif spoke back.

                     "Well what do you suggest? We still have this dragon threat to deal with," Galmar asked Jorleif, in a slightly agitated voice.

                "You could wed her Ulfric, then there would be no one to rise against you for the throne," Jorleif suggested.

                     "You're suggesting I marry the Dragonborn?" Ulfric spoke, the words shot Ariella in the heart. They were talking about _her_. She wasn't sure whether to barge in and demand answers or sit back and listen longer. Her body didn't want to move.

                "Think of it, my Jarl. The Dragonborn and a Stormcloak. Your people would love it," Jorleif suggested.

                     "It does make sense. I will continue to try to convince her to join our cause, so far she seems to be accepting my advances," Ulfric spoke. Ariella felt angry, and she could feel Mirmulnir become angered as well. Ariella couldn't stop herself from barging up to the door.

                "So _this_ is your plan for me? To _convert me_ to your cause and guarantee I won't _steal your silly throne away_?!" Ariella hissed. All three men jumped, not expecting the harsh tone and angry elf storming in.

                     "Ariella-- I--" Ulfric tried to speak, but Ariella didn't care what he had to say.

                "Gods _damn_ your petty cause and _Gods damn_ your stupid throne," Ariella growled, spinning on her heel and storming back towards the exit. Ulfric ran after her, grabbing her by her arm, trying to stop her.

                " _Fus!_ " Ariella shouted, Mirmulnir growling in joy inside her. Ulfric stumbled back, but wasn't hurt. That didn't stop his guards from attempting to arrest Ariella. She dodged each of their grabs and slid over the table, and took off running through the doors. She turned back and saw Ulfric's face, which was stuck in surprise, before she ran out the doors. The guards barreled after her, shouting for the other guards to help.

                Ariella ran past the inn and out the gates without a guard catching her, she was faster than those guards in all their heavy armor. She fled across the bridge and jumped off into the stables, and mounted a horse. _I already have them after me for shouting at Ulfric, I may as well borrow a getaway-horse_ , Ariella thought to herself. She squeezed the horse's sides hard, causing it to rear up and take off. She heard the guards shout as the horse took off over the bridge and towards Whiterun.

 

 

                It was getting later into the evening when Ariella saw Whiterun. It was pouring rain, putting an even bigger damper on Ariella's mood. She nudged the horse gently to quicken it's pace, and dismounted it when she got to the stables. The horse started to wander back to Windhelm, Ariella bid it a farewell pat before jogging up to the Whiterun gates.

                Everything seemed so normal in Whiterun, nothing had changed. Nobody knew that she almost lost her life after pursuing a dangerous man. Ariella wasn't sure if she liked it or not. She raced towards Jorrvaskr, and bumped into Aela leaving.

                "Aela! Where is Vilkas?" Ariella snapped the question out before Aela even realized it was her.

                     "Vilkas? He was in the training yard last I saw him," Ariella was gone by the time Aela finished her sentence. She circled Jorrvaskr and came to a dead halt when she saw Vilkas, smacking around a training dummy in a tunic and rough slacks. She felt like her heart was in her throat, it beat so fast. She didn't know what she was supposed to say, she just knew she had to say it. He didn't notice her, the rain probably lightly masked her scent she thought.

                     "Vilkas!" She called, standing frozen in place.

                Vilkas turned from his distraction to see Ariella, standing out in the rain gazing at him. She was soaked head to toe from the rain, her wet hair hung limp and wavy. She looked so beautiful, he thought to himself. He dropped the sword he was practicing with, and half jogged over to her, standing a few feet in front of her.

                "May I... Speak to you..? Privately?" Ariella stuttered nervously, glancing at Ria and Njada, who were sitting on the porch, safe from the rain. Vilkas had completely forgotten them being there, he glanced back and noticed them. He smiled down at Ariella and nodded, taking her hand and leading her inside Jorrvaskr, and down to his room, both of them dripping water along the way.

                Once they were inside his room, they both stood a few feet apart. Ariella stared at the ground, nervously thinking over what to say.

                "What happened, Ariella? Is Mercer dead?" Vilkas asked. Ariella hesitated to answer, she didn't want to think about what happened.

                "I..." Ariella spoke slowly and carefully, "We found him in Irkngthand, like we thought. He.. He's dead. And.."

                "And?" Vilkas smiled at her warmly, hoping he could comfort her with his smile.

                     "I killed Mercer. The chamber, it... It started flooding... The exit was blocked, something fell on the other side.. We were trapped in and.. We all almost died.."

                "But you didn't," Vilkas added, cheerfully. The thought of her drowning terrified him.

                     "We didn't.. We made it out just in time and.. I've thought about it, and it's just fate's way of saying I have a second chance.." Ariella hesitated to continue, but took a deep breath in and mustered all of her courage, "I didn't want to die without telling you how I felt.. I was given a chance to tell you, and so here it is."

                     "Ariel--" Vilkas tried to cut her off, but she wouldn't stop. She kept her eyes on the ground, not meeting his soft gaze.

                "Vilkas, I care for you a great deal, and I know it wasn't _always_ like that.. I think you feel the same and I.. I just didn't want to think that I could lose you, and.. I've been so afraid to give this a chance, with my past in mind. I've never cared like this for anyone, my sister was the only person I had to care about. This is so new to me and.." Ariella met Vilkas' gaze, and stopped talking. She closed the distance between them, and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into her kiss.

                It was slow and careful at first, but it built up into a fire between them. It was the kind of kiss that made Ariella weak in the knees, one she didn't want to end. Vilkas weaved his hand through her hair and pulled her head close, not daring to let her move away. This kiss was more than anything Vilkas could have ever imagined, he forgot that things were going on around them. Time seemed to stand still to them both, until they finally pulled away.

                Vilkas leaned his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes shut. A smile crept on his face as he wrapped his arms around Ariella's small body. She held herself as close to him as possible, as if she was going to fuse into him. They stood, wrapped in each other's arms for a very long time, before they fell to the bed and fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter, it was hard to stop. I hope you guys like it as much as I do!


	20. Can't? Or won't?

_Dear Vilkas:_

_I will be back in about a week or so. I have some business in Falkreath I needed to attend to. You were away on a contract, so I've decided to leave you this note so you know I haven't taken off. I will be thinking about you. I'll come back safe. And I remember reading this book of yours, I decided it needed some 'improvements'. Divines guide you._

_-Ariella_

               

                Vilkas took one look at the book underneath the note Ariella had left, it was the first book she had read with him, Great Harbingers. He glanced through it until he came to the very end, and noticed her note. She wrote:

                _Kodlak Whitemane: A kind man, and kind father. He welcomed anyone who walked into his halls who had a fire in his heart, and lived for honor until the day he died._

Vilkas felt his heart in his throat, his eyes teared up a little bit. It was the first time Ariella had mentioned Kodlak in months. He was so thankful for Kodlak for letting Ariella in. He always imagined that it would be a mistake, he never would have thought it would turn out quite like this. Part of him wondered what she was doing, but he trusted her to be okay.

               

                Ariella ran through the tall trees, Rayya trailing behind breathlessly. _Keeping up with Ariella was hard to do,_ Rayya thought to herself, _first, she had went into some mysterious cave behind a big black door, then she wanted to go hunting. Does she ever get tired?_

                "Hurry up Rayya, you're slow!" Ariella called out to her with a chuckle, sliding downhill and stopping at the edge of a cliff, peering over the edge. Lake Ilinalta was beautiful in the evening, the light reflecting warmly off the water. Ariella sat herself down on the edge, watching the deer graze close to the water's edge, and a fox run across the road.

                Rayya caught up and noticed Ariella peacefully sitting back. Ariella glanced up and smiled at Rayya, patting the ground next to her. Rayya took up the offer and sat next to her. It was peaceful and quiet, they relaxed there for a long time.

                "Should we head back and have supper soon?" Rayya asked after a long time passed.

                     "That is a splendid idea, Rayya," Ariella beamed, jumping up and extending her hand to help Rayya up. Rayya wasn't looking forward to hiking back up a hill in the woods, but they had no choice.

                Lakeview Manor was a splendid home, Ariella relished in the home. She adored the big fire place, she loved hearing all the little bugs in her greenhouse that bloomed and grew while she was away. She ran her hands along the hanging moss and watered all of the herbs. She decided to organize her library a bit, since she knew she had the time. The books filled her with joy, though she could hardly read most of them. _I'll have Vilkas help me with that_.

                On top of that, Rayya cooked the most splendid Salmon steak Ariella had ever had. Said she used her family recipe, using salt and powder elves-ears. Ariella appreciated spending time with Rayya, she was excited to tell her all of the new things that had happened since the night Ariella disappeared. Rayya admit, she thought Ariella may had gotten herself killed. She thought Ariella would come back home sooner, if not already dead. They drank ale until they were both drunk, and they both hobbled up to bed to fall asleep.

 

                Rayya slumped down the stairs the next morning, hungover and very tired. _Note to self, don't try to out-drink Ariella again_. Like the thought had summoned her, Ariella popped out of the library downstairs, causing Rayya to jump.

                "My th-- I mean, Ariella! I didn't know you were awake," Rayya's eyes were wide like she had been caught in a trap. Ariella laughed, and gave Rayya a friendly grin.

                     "Good morning to you too, Rayya. How would you feel about coming to Whiterun with me?" Ariella asked, Rayya noticing that Ariella is already dressed, armored, and ready to go.

                "I, uh. Whiterun? Alright, I just need to get ready," Rayya still looked like she had been caught in a trap, Ariella smiled again and tossed something that had been wrapped in cloth at her.

                     "I almost forgot to give you this, I figured maybe you could have some use of it," Ariella beamed, and looked down sheepishly. She had thought Rayya would like it. Rayya unwrapped the cloth and removed a pair of Orcish gauntlets, they gleamed a magical glow of enchantment. "They're enchanted to make your strikes harder when you're using your sword. I thought maybe you would like them, I noticed one of your steel gauntlets was falling apart.."

                "Thank you Ariella, I don't know what to say," Rayya smiled. Ariella nodded with a return smile, and nodded towards the stairs, allowing Rayya to change into her armor.

 

 

                Ariella and Rayya walk into Jorrvaskr together, warmly greeted by drunken Torvar and a tipsy Farkas. Rayya laughed, she didn't expect this for her first time in the Companions home.

                "Rie, rie! How musch you wanna-- bet that I can drinksh more than... Farkasss," Torvar called, falling sideways out of his seat. Farkas made a deep hearty laugh, and gave Ariella a smile.

                      "Good to see you're back alright, Shield-Sister. Have anything exciting we can do?" Farkas was ready for some adventure. It had been a boring few days, filled with minor contracts. He yearned for some excitement.

                "Nothing exciting the moment our Harbinger returns," Ariella noticed Vilkas as soon as he spoke, he stood at the top of the stairs, smiling at her. He closed the distance fast, and wrapped his arms around her. Rayya chuckled, she had hoped to meet the man who could sweep this stubborn elf off her feet.

                For hours, they sat and laughed, the Companions sharing stories with Rayya about their favorite contracts and Rayya exchanged stories of Hammerfell.  Ariella couldn't stop smiling, even Rin came up and chat with them all. It felt like time had froze and nothing else was going on around the happy-partially tipsy group. All of it changed very quickly.

                "C-c-Companions!!" A very young guard burst through the door, sweating and heaving.

                     "What is it? Is everything alright?" Rin asked him, leaping out of her seat and going to console the man.

                "D-d... Dragon! Out next to the city! It's already killed seven of the guards!"

                Everyone seemed to turn to Ariella, who sat wide-eyed in fear. She had never wanted to see another dragon again, yet here one was. Mirmulnir roared inside her, growing restless.

                "Ariella.. Are you ready for this?" Vilkas soothed to her, touching her wrist. He was concerned, he saw the fear that was in her eyes. Her first dragon experience left her in shock for hours, he didn't want to imagine.

                "Arie, you can stay here if you would like, but the city needs us," Rin tried to make this easy for Ariella, though she wasn't sure if it was the best idea to take on this dragon without her.

                     "I.. I-I can't," Ariella trembled from head to toe.

                As soon as the words were spoken, Vilkas, Farkas, and Rin were heading out the door to go defend Whiterun from a dragon. Minutes past, but it felt like hours in Ariella's mind. She paced the mead hall, Rayya watching her every step.

                "Why won't you go help them?" Rayya asked, giving Ariella a harsh look. Ariella didn't speak, just paced faster. "Ariella, why won't you go out there? They _need_ you."

                "I can't! I just... Can't.." Ariella burst, she was filled with fear of all the possibilities.

                     "Can't? Or won't?" Rayya's words made Ariella stop pacing, "Ariella, Skyrim is in chaos. Dragons are attacking, there is a civil war going on, and the one hope is the Dragonborn, to protect innocent people from dragons."

                "I can't be that person, Rayya," Ariella frowned, her eyes grew fogged.

                     "You told me that your escape from death was a second chance, Ariella. You're supposed to be the Hero. You can't hide in fear. You have us," Rayya spoke as seriously as she could. She believed in Ariella. She knew Ariella could save everyone.

                Ariella suddenly walked down the stairs, Rayya heard things shuffling and Ariella came back up the stairs, holding a sheathed sword. She turned to her pack and started throwing things out, books, ingredients, gems.

                "What on Nirn are you doing, Ariella?" Rayya finally questioned, walking over to her.

                     "You're right, Rayya. I can't hide in fear. I'm the Hero."

 

 

                Rin began to regret charging at the dragon without more guards for reinforcement. The large green dragon swooped down, breathing fire, Rin barely dodged in time. The twins weren't having any more luck, they were trying to get the dragon to land. Luckily on the road, they bumped into Aela, who was more than willing to join the fight, unleashing arrow hell towards this dragon. Rin shot fire balls at the dragon, aiming for the wings but almost always missing. Finally, she lands one good hit, causing the dragon to land before them.

                Maybe Farkas had been being too cocky, it might have been the ale he had been drinking. He charged right on up to the dragon's head, swinging down his great sword. Rin had been using destruction magic, and Vilkas was attacking the dragon's side, no one knew what to do when it happened.

                The dragon snapped down and grabbed Farkas by the chest, placing one strong  bite into him, flailing him around in his mouth like a dog with a toy. It threw Farkas under a rocky overhang, landing on the hard ground. Rin screamed, terrified of Farkas' fate. The dragon took back off into the air, and started circling overhead like a vulture. Rin, Vilkas and Aela ran to Farkas, who was still alive, but deeply injured and in a lot of pain. Rin tried her healing spells but it didn't do much. The wounds were too great. They had cover from the dragon with the rocks overhead, but Rin knew Farkas wouldn't make it back to Whiterun with the dragon still alive. Still, she didn't risk leaving his side. Vilkas and Aela kept watch on the dragon, who had decided to attack the giants camp close by. Rin wished that they had more back up, anyone or anything right now.

                Thundering hooves ran across the Whiterun plains, horse leaping overhead off of the rocky overhang. Rin looked to see Ariella and Rayya on horseback. Ariella started climbing up to stand on this horse, Rin noticed the oncoming dragon swooping low enough that it could knock Ariella off. But Ariella already knew that when she leapt up digging a dagger into the dragon's side, using it's spikes and her dagger to climb up. The dragon howled, but kept flight, refusing to give her back up. But Ariella refused to fall off this dragon, despite its twisting and rolling. She held on tight, legs wrapped around its neck, and pulled out her bow slowly. She shot three arrows at one wing, crippling it's one wing, and shooting two arrows at the other wing before it landed.

                Rayya dismounted the horse and slapped it on its rear end, she was sure the frightened 'borrowed' horse would go racing home. Rayya charged the dragon like instructed, Vilkas and Aela followed suit. The dragon tried to turn its head to reach Ariella, snapping inches away from her. She used a dagger to scratch it on its face when it got too close. Ariella was waiting for it to get distracted, to pull out her enchanted sword. On cue, Rayya came running, followed by Vilkas and Aela, taking the dragon's attention away. Ariella quickly unsheathed her sword and began to balance herself on the dragon's neck. She pounded the sword into the dragon's neck, it reared up to knock her off, but Ariella desperately held on to its spike. Ariella let herself slip down, bringing the sword down cutting through the side of the dragon's neck. Mirmulnir howled in pleasure listening to this dragon's helpless calls. The dragon fell to the ground, and tried to snap anyone who came close. Rayya distracted the dragon and Ariella spun up onto it, thrusting her sword deep into the dragon's skull.

                Finally, it stopped moving.

                Ariella waited as the corpse burnt up and the dragon soul hit her, leaving an overwhelmed feeling just like the first time. She shook it off, trying to be better than before. She was prepared for congratulations and celebration until Aela and Vilkas ran back to Rin and knelt into a rocky overhang. Ariella followed them to see Rin in tears, desperately trying to heal Farkas' wounds.

 

 

                Vilkas carried his brother back to Jorrvaskr on his back. Farkas would occasionally mumble nonsense, and was sometimes responsive. All hope wasn't lost. Ariella felt terrible, she felt it was her fault, if she had just gone with, maybe it wouldn't have happened. Rin was in tears the whole walk back, even after Danica did the best she could with restoration magic. Danica said all they could do is wait and continue treatment, and that maybe in a few weeks, Farkas might possibly get better.

               


	21. She Healed Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is mourning their Shield Brother instead of finding a way to help him, Ariella decides that isn't enough.

                Everything felt different in the Halls of Jorrvaskr. Everyone mourned for Farkas as if he was already dead. But Ariella knew he would pull through. He was a strong man, he would pull through. But her words didn't comfort Rin. Rin shut everyone out, boarding herself in the study, only coming out to check on Farkas and try magic again to no avail. Several times, Ariella tried to comfort Rin, who just pushed her away, refusing to speak or even see her. _Maybe she blames me too_...

                Rayya offered to go back to Lakeview, to keep the home safe, since Jorrvaskr was clearly needing to spend time with themselves. Ariella thanked Rayya for being so understanding, and promised she'd come back sooner this time around.

                Ariella walked through Jorrvaskr's halls, she noticed that even with how drunk everyone was, none of them were merry. They drank until they were numb. She frowned, drinking wasn't something she wanted to do right now. Ariella walked down the steps and walked to Vilkas' room, knocking gently on his door. She heard a mumble on the other side of the door, she opened it slightly to peek in.

                "Vilkas?" Ariella whispered, with the most comforting tone she could put on.

                     "I said- Go away," Vilkas growled from his bed. The room was pitch dark, Ariella could hardly see his figure sitting with his knees to his chest in the back corner of his bed. Ariella sighed, and came in anyways, closing the door gently behind.

                "What part of go away is hard to understand?" Vilkas growled again, Ariella could hear the sadness in his voice. His breath was short and shaky, like he was fighting off tears. Ariella sat at the very edge of the bed, facing away from Vilkas.

                "I thought you might need to talk," Ariella spoke calmly, keeping her head on straight. She didn't want to get angry at him when he's just worried.

                "Well I don't, now leave." Vilkas commanded, but Ariella was stubborn. She turned and sat cross legged on the bed reaching out her hand to touch the bare spot where his pants lifted high, exposing his leg.

                "Vilkas, we are in this together now, you and I. That means that I'm here for you no matter what. I care about you, and I care about your brother. I _know_ he will pull through this. There's something similar in you two besides looks," Ariella paused, making eye contact with a curious Vilkas, "You're both as stubborn as a bull."

                Vilkas sighed, not the reaction Ariella had hoped for. She scooted next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. Vilkas tried to stay in his little huddle, but melted into Ariella's embrace. He wrapped his arms tight around her, laying on her chest. Ariella could feel his tears coming down, she brushed through his hair in hopes of comforting him.

                "How are you so sure?" Vilkas asked through shaky breaths, looking up to Ariella with those sad silvery eyes. Truth was, Ariella didn't know why she was so sure. She just knew she was.

                "I.. I don't know. But Divines, take me, I will keep trying to help him if it kills me," Ariella wiped the tears off of Vilkas' face. He gazed at her for a few moments before leaning up to kiss her. The kiss felt desperate, longing. Ariella pulled away before it led to anything else that Vilkas may come to regret. He laid back onto her chest, holding her tightly, the occasional tear dripped down onto her chest. Vilkas was still quite unsure how he found such a wonderful woman.

 

 

                Ariella didn't realize she had fallen asleep. She had woken up and Vilkas was already gone. Likely upstairs eating something. She crawled out of his bed and walked out of his room, closing his door behind her. She turned and gazed at Farkas' door, something about it called to her. Beckoned her to come in. Ariella opened the doors slowly, peeking in. The room was dark besides the lone candle next to his bedside. Farkas laid there unconscious, alone in the room.

                Ariella didn't notice that she had moved to his bedside and knelt next to him. Something inside her was telling her to focus, on what, she was unsure of. She noticed the golden glow building in her hands, until it completely surrounded her hands. This magic Ariella never used before, but she was sure it was restoration magic. She lifted Farkas' tunic to uncover the wounds, and placed her hands on him until he was enveloped in golden light. Farkas began to breath normally, his eyes began to flutter open.

                "How did you do that?" Rin stood shocked in the door frame.  Ariella stared with wide eyes, and looked back down at her hands, the golden glow dimmed down and faded away.

                     "I.. I don't know," Ariella spoke, but was pushed out of the way when Farkas began to come to.

                "R-Rin?" Farkas mumbled, eyes slowly opening. Rin took his hand with one of hers, and caressed his face with her other.

                     "Yes, it's me, I'm here," Rin smiled between thankful tears.

                "What a beautiful sight," Farkas gazed at Rin wearily, and then turned to Ariella, "What did you do to me?"

                Ariella shook her head, she had never had much opportunity to _use_ restoration magic on others, let alone herself. It was just as big of a surprise to her.

                     "Shh, it doesn't matter, sweet. What matters is you're alright," Rin continued to caress his face. Vilkas ran into the room, quickly noticing his awakened brother.

                " Farkas!" Vilkas smiled with glee, pushing Rin aside and sitting at his brothers side, "Bless the Divines, you're awake!"

                     "She healed me," Farkas looked back to Ariella again, Vilkas' gaze following him back. Vilkas became puzzled, he didn't know Ariella knew anything about restoration magic, if that's what she had used. Rin sat at the edge of the bed and lifted the tunic, all of the bite wounds had completely disappeared without a trace, as if it never occurred. Rin requested Danica to come up, Danica was equally as surprised to find Farkas' wound completely healed.

               

                "You did this yourself?" Danica asked Ariella, tracing her hands where Farkas' wounds were. Ariella nodded but didn't say anything, she didn't know what to say. "Have you used restoration magic before?"

                Ariella shook her head, sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall. _Could it be the Dragon souls?_  Ariella thought, shaking her head quickly no. _It couldn't be_..

                Rin tried to talk to Ariella, but Ariella was too far in thought to pay attention. Ariella decided to take a walk alone to clear her head, and snuck out of Jorrvaskr without notice. The town was too noisy, she decided to walk through the plains beside the town. She trudged through the long grass, hopping down rocks until she came across the dragon bones. She had never had the chance to really look at them, everyone was too worried about Farkas.

                The bones were much bigger than Ariella, bigger than Ariella remembered. The scales had all burnt off, leaving bare bones. She wondered what would happen to the bones, now that they were left bare and alone. She turned away and looked at the giants camp nearby, Bleakwind Basin the guards had taken to calling it. She noticed the mammoth's, one laying down next to a giant that had been struck down by the dragon. Ariella continued to sit and watch, wondering what it was like for them too, trying to decide her next move.


	22. The 7,000 Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella learns about the 7,000 steps, and makes her way to High Hrothgar.

                _Ariella recognized these dark halls that she came to be walking through. She remembered every nook and cranny in this castle, after spending her entire childhood learning these halls. She looked down and saw a tray in her hands, and her feet were leading her to the main hall where she would serve her master his lunch. She couldn't stop her body, it kept moving until it came round the corner into the main hall. There, she saw him, across the hall. Her former master stood, staring menacingly at her, but somehow it wasn't him. His form twisted and deformed in shadows, his eyes grew red and his body became large, black and scaled, wings sprouted from his sides. Ariella let out  a scream._

Ariella shot up out of bed, heart pounding out of her chest. She looked around, _everyone must have already gotten up._ She didn't hesitate to get up, today was an important day. Jarl Balgruuf had requested her, by name, though she was unsure why. She got dressed in the best clothes she had and made her way to Dragonsreach, the guards held the doors open for her.

                "Ahh, Ariella!" Balgruuf called once he spotted her across the hall, "Come in, sit down."

                Ariella was unsure of this warm invitation, but sat down at the table he had motioned to, Balgruuf sat across from her.

                     "Tell me, Ariella, have you heard about the 7,000 steps before?" Balgruuf asked, pouring two goblets with wine. He held one out to her, motioning for her to take it.

                "I have not, my Jarl," Ariella nodded a thanks, taking the wine and taking a sip. It was sweet to her tongue, but she preferred the mead from Jorrvaskr.

                     "Ahh, well allow me to educate you. The 7,000 steps is a path to High Hrothgar, commonly made by pilgrims. I made the journey once, myself. High Hrothgar is home to the Greybeards, masters of the Voice," Balgruuf gazed into the distance wistfully, thinking back to the good ol' days.

                "And what does this have to do with me?" Ariella frowned slightly, unsure of what his intentions were.

                     "As Dragonborn, you have the gift of the Voice. The Greybeards can teach you more about it, and how to master your shouts," Balgruuf beamed at her like he had just handed her a thousand septims. Ariella gazed down at the table, thinking deeply on what he had just told her. She could learn the Voice and master her shouts. Maybe they could help her learn how to defeat the dragons before she becomes one of their lunch's.

                "Where are these '7,000 steps' you speak of?" Ariella glanced back up at Balgruuf.

                     "The beginning of the steps lie in Ivarstead, you follow the path up to High Hrothgar. They do not usually accept students, but I'm sure the Dragonborn is a special case," Jarl Balgruuf smirked at her. Ariella thought more about it, and the more she considered, the more she liked the idea.

                "Thank you for telling me of this. Is that all?" Ariella asked as she stood, sipping out of the goblet one last time.

                     "That was all I needed to say," Balgruuf stood, and made his way back to his throne, wine in hand. Ariella had to try her best not to run excitedly out of Dragonsreach. She skipped happily back to Jorrvaskr, and through its doors, with a giant smile on her face. Nobody had the chance to stop and ask her what she was so excited about before she danced into the study downstairs and sat right next to Rin.

                "What is it Arie?"Rin asked without glancing up from her book.

                     "I found out something _wonderful_ Rin," Ariella beamed and stared off, thinking of all the possibilities. With the Greybeards, she would finally understand her Voice. They could teach her how to use it properly, maybe help her defeat the dragons. This was the first grasp of hope she had since she first found out she was Dragonborn.

                "Entice me," Rin sighed, head still buried in the book. Ariella's lips pulled into a tight line, hoping Rin was really paying attention.

                      "I spoke to Jarl Balgruuf. He summoned for me, as you know. He spoke to me about High Hrothgar and the 7,000 Steps," Ariella glanced back up to Rin, who glanced over her book for a second and quickly back down, "He said the Greybeards could teach me how to use the Voice."

                Ariella watched Rin closely as she stiffened in place and looked up from her book. She slowly met Ariella's eyes and gave her a peculiar look, this was the first time Ariella had spoken positively about the Dragonborn business. She seemed genuinely excited, so Rin decided to test it.

                     "And I take it you want to go?" Rin's eyes narrowed curiously at Ariella as she squirmed in her chair.

                "Well... Yes! It's the best chance I have to learn about all of this, and.. So many more people could get hurt if I don't do _something_.." Ariella frowned, trailing off. Rin made an amused huff and nodded, smiling back down at the book.

                     "Do you plan to go alone?"

                Ariella sat and thought about the question for a moment, "I was thinking about it."

                     "Take a Shield-Sibling. I have read about the 7,000 steps, it is not a journey to take lightly. Just be careful," Rin smiled up at Ariella, nodding in approval.

                "Do you not wish to come?"

                Rin frowned, the 7,000 steps was not a journey she had ever wished to take. The road to Ivarstead was not long, but hiking up a mountain, fighting off wolves and bears on the way up, didn't sound like her idea of a good time.

                "No, I'd.. I'd rather not. Besides, someone's ought to keep an eye on _some_ of these Companions," Rin winked and gave Ariella a teasing smirk. Ariella smiled back happily at her sister and ran off to find her friends.

 

                Ariella scanned the meadhall and looked at her options. Vilkas and Farkas were out on a contract, so they were out of the question.  Torvar and Athis were already drunk, so any hope of leaving soon was not going to happen with them. Her eyes fell on Aela and Ria, who nursed mugs of mead, but didn't seem to have drank much. Ariella smiled and waltzed over to them and stood next to them.

                "Ladies! How would you like to go on an adventure?"

 

 

 

                The road to Ivarstead wasn't long, but it had been very uneventful. The ladies talked amongst themselves briefly, but nothing interesting that Ariella could recall. Ivarstead was small, not a place she would be likely to visit aside from the 7,000 steps. They decided to stop in the inn for the night, and start out again in the morning, since it was already late in the evening. Wilhelm looked like he was about to jump out of his pants he was so excited to see guests, especially three Companions.

                Ariella excused herself to go 'look around the town' for a while, and came back an hour later with a smile on her face, but offered no explanation. She bid Aela and Ria good night, and quickly retired to her room.

 

                Aela was woken early by Ariella, who was so quiet when she came in even her wolf spirit didn't hear her approach. They woke Ria and packed their things and left the inn before daylight broke. Ariella became increasingly quiet throughout the day, besides the groans and whines from hiking uphill in the cold snowy weather. The two other Companions didn't mind the cold so much, Aela was cozy with her Nordic blood, and Ria had just gotten used to the cold weather after growing up there, despite being Imperial.

                After fighting off wolves, a bear, and a frost troll, Ariella could see it in the distance. The stone building stood strong on the mountainside, the dark stone stood out plain as day against the snow. It looked very isolated, but Ariella felt it welcoming her.

                "High Hrothgar.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't gotten to this in a long time! I've been putting it off, but I'll try to post more often for you guys (:


	23. Get Some Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella feels like she's going everywhere, leaving her exhausted.

                Ariella didn't mind being tested by the Greybeards. She didn't mind all of the learning she did in just a few hours, and all of the wisdom Arngeir had pushed at her.  She didn't even mind that she had been sent back down the mountain and all the way to Ustengrav, all the way near Morthal. What she did mind was that after all of that training, all of the learning, the advice, and the hiking, that someone had the audacity to take the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, and left _a note_ with demands for _her_. Demands for her to travel all the way to Riverwood and rent the attic room. No, this, _this_ made her angry. She wasn't going to take this from someone who she had never met, and called her 'a friend'.

                Aela and Rin were wary to stay out of her way. They could see how moody she had been getting, and had no idea why this made her so angry. Tired, understandable, but angry? She looked like she was ready to set someone on fire the whole road to Riverwood. Aela and Rin took their opportunity to escape her wrath when they passed Whiterun, and made an excuse as to why they had to suddenly be home. Ariella only grunted, and kept stomping away towards Riverwood.

               

                "Could I get the attic room please?" Ariella was covered in mud, and had a couple wolf bites on her arms, and was not in a pleasant mood. She just wanted the _stupid horn_ and a nice warm bath.

                " Attic room, eh? Well... we don't have an attic room, but you can have the one on the left. Make yourself at home," the Innkeeper, Delphine had said, and luckily didn't notice the frustrated growl Ariella made. Ariella went to the room that Delphine pointed out and slammed the door with her foot, throwing herself in a very uncomfortable chair. _Fine, if this is how my 'friend' wants to handle it, so be it._

                Ariella read a book to keep herself entertained for an hour, before someone entered the room. Her brows furrowed at the Innkeeper as she snuck in, completely silent.

                "May I help you, Delphine?" Ariella asked cautiously.

                   "So, you're the Dragonborn I've been hearing so much about. I think you've been looking for this," Delphine slipped the horn out of her apron and handed it to Ariella, who watched her cautiously as she took the horn.

                "Are _you_ the friend who left me that note?" Ariella asked, unable to help the way she spit her words. She was exhausted, and controlling her anger wasn't high on her priorities.

                   "Indeed I am. I'm sorry for making you hike all the way here," Delphine answered plainly, Ariella knew there wasn't any sympathy in that apology, "Come on, follow me. We need to talk."

                "Could've at least brought me a snack," Ariella mumbled to herself.

 

 

                "Alright, let me get this right. You don't believe I'm the Dragonborn. Shouting won't prove it to you, nothing will, _besides_ killing a dragon, that will be attacking Kynesgrove in approximately five days?" Ariella folded her arms across her chest, giving Delphine a typical 'done-with-your-shit' look.

                "Correct. Now if we want to make it in time, we better get moving," Delphine tapped her foot impatiently, not wanting to waste her time.

                "I'm not ready. I need to stock back up before I think of chasing any dragons," Ariella hissed, taking in deep breaths to try to control her building anger.

                "I can't wait around for you to make up your mind. I'll meet you in Kynesgrove. _Don't_ waste time getting there," Delphine ordered before digging through a chest and pulling out a set of armor. Ariella huffed and walked up the stairs out of the hidden room.

                The walk to Whiterun was short, but still difficult to the aches and pains that seemed to cover Ariella's body. She put on the nicest smile she could for every guard she passed, but she silently cursed their cheerfulness as she passed. She relaxed a bit when she entered Jorrvaskr, it was much safer here.

                "Ariella! I assume that your being here indicates that you found your 'friend' in Riverwood?" Aela called from her place at the table.

                   "Sadly, yes," Ariella answered before trudging towards the stairs. The back doors of Jorrvaskr opened, the twins came in covered in sweat from training. It took seconds before Vilkas spotted Ariella as she tromped down the stairs, and went bounding after her. He found her packing food and potions into her pack, her lips formed a tight line, in the light downstairs you could see the dark circles under her eyes.

                "Ariella, what are you doing?" Vilkas spoke softly, walking up to her and putting a gentle hand on the small of her back.

                   "Packing.. Got to kill a stupid dragon.." Ariella spat out the words, not stopping her packing.

                "Another one? What for?"

                   "Stupid Delphine... Thinks she can just order me to meet her in Kynesgrove.. Stupid dragons.." Ariella grumbled to herself.

                "Arie, no, Kynesgrove takes a few days to get to, you need rest," Vilkas tried to grab her arm to stop her from packing, but she struggled away.

                   "Can't.. Dragon will be there in five days."

                "Ariella, please. You can get some sleep tonight, and still make it there in that time. I'll even go with you, just please. Get some rest," Vilkas grabbed her by her shoulders, turning her to him. He tilted her chin towards him, he kissed the top of her forehead tenderly before embracing her. She mumbled something incoherent, but held him back. Her body wobbled in his grasp, like she was about to fall asleep in his arms. "Come on, you can stay with me tonight. You need to relax."

                Ariella nodded, too tired to argue, Vilkas tucked her pack under her bed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her to his room, and sat her on his bed. She struggled to take off her armor, Vilkas helped her unbuckle it and take everything off until she was in just her tunic and breeches. He had no trouble laying her in his bed, she laid beside him on her side, dozing off slowly. Vilkas rubbed her shoulders and back while she fell asleep, and slowly began to fall asleep himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but I'll make up for it next time! Sorry if it's not very great, I'm finishing this at 5 am and I am very sleepy. Thanks for your patience guys!


	24. Sure you did

                When Vilkas woke up, Ariella was still fast asleep, curled against him as best she can. He was surprised she didn’t get too hot curled up on him, as werewolves tend run very hot to stay warm in colder climates. He watched her for a moment, she looked so peacefully relaxed, something she had long needed.  He waited a few minutes before waking her up, she woke up with a grumble and covered her face in a pillow. Vilkas chuckled and crawled over her, putting a pair of packs together for the road. His room was cold, it was getting colder now that winter was approaching. He shook the thought off, not looking forward to the cold winter, and continued to pack. He had finished carefully putting some health potions in a pack when Ariella caught his eye. She watched him from the bed, arms sprawled overhead, soft smile covering her face.

                “See something you like?” He smiled back at her, stuffing some clothing into the pack. He heard her giggle and shuffle out of bed to him, taking the pack from his hands and setting it on the floor. She reached her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Surprised but pleased, Vilkas ran his fingers through Ariella’s long hair, sending a noticeable shudder down her back. When she broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, trying to extend the moment as long as he could.

                “You do remember I have a pack ready from last night?” Ariella smirked at him, her voice still quiet as she woke up.

                “I do, but you forget that it will be cold out. Especially where we are going,” he watched her frown when she thought about it. He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone and grabbed for the pack and moving it to his bed. Ariella picked pieces of her armor off the floor and began strapping it on, her frown deepened as she went. “You know you don’t _have_ to go, Ariella.”

                She stared at the floor contemplating what he had said before answering, “No, but _I do._ I mean, I had to have been chosen to be Dragonborn for some reason, _right_?” She looked at him with unsure eyes, hoping he could give her an answer that he didn’t have. All he could do was give her a smile and pull her into his embrace.

 

 

                It was early morning when they left Jorrvaskr, barely light enough out for them to see. The cold nipped at Ariella’s skin, she frowned and tugged her large fur coat closer to her face. She was still annoyed that she had to travel to Kynesgrove, but Vilkas made it a lot more bearable. They traveled by carriage to Windhelm, the thought of being so close to Windhelm again made Ariella nervous. But the problems seemed to fade away as she cuddled close to Vilkas in the carriage, only bothered by the light snowfall that began when they came close to the city.

                It was getting dark when they arrived in Windhelm. Ariella became antsy now that they stood in front of Windhelm’s gates. It would be much too cold out to travel to Kynesgrove with how fast temperature would be dropping, but Ariella knew Windhelm would be dangerous for her after her last encounter here.

                “We can keep going if you’d like Arie,” Vilkas touched Ariella’s arm, giving her a comforting smile. She smiled back at him as she studied his gentle expression.

                “No, it’s.. It’s fine. We need to be at our best when we fight this dragon, we can’t risk getting sick just because I’m a bit uncomfortable in Windhelm,” She whipped her hair to the side and tugged her hood up, using a face mask to hide part of her face. She took Vilkas’ hand and tugs him along the bridge, taking deep breaths as she walks. Once inside the main gate, Ariella relaxed a little bit. She paid extra caution when guards walked by as Vilkas led her to the Candlehearth Hall. Vilkas held the door open for her, brushing his hand along the small of her back as she passed him. She examined all of her surroundings, planning at least three ways to escape if necessary while Vilkas paid for a room. She was so focused on planning an escape she jumped when Vilkas touched her arm again.

                Ariella followed Vilkas down the hall to a small room. First thing she did was take off the large coat, and parts of armor piece by piece. Vilkas disappeared momentarily and came back with a small tray of food, handing it off to Ariella as he started taking apart his armor. Ariella snacked on bits of salmon steak and bread on the edge of their bed as she watched him pull off his Companion armor. She stopped moving when he pulled off his tunic and ran a damp rag over his face and chest.

She couldn’t help but gawk at his bare upper half. She had seen him shirtless before, in training practices and such, but she had never been as interested as she was now. Her eyes trailed along his biceps that flexed as he reached the rag along his back. His shoulders were strong and broad, his chest was built like a warrior’s, with a light amount of chest hair and adorned with battle scars. Her eyes followed the hair down along his stomach, which he had worked into a six-pack. Her gaze danced a little lower to the top of his trousers before she caught herself and turned a shade of pink.

Vilkas glanced over and caught her look, and assumed by the decent shade of pink she had turned meant she was staring. He didn’t hide his grin, running his fingers through his hair, strutting over to her side and snatching food from the tray. He decides to push it and give her a playful wink, causing her to turn from pink to a deep red. Ariella turned her gaze away, embarrassed.  That was just what she needed, to stroke his ego.

“I could put it back on if you’d like,” Vilkas chuckled to himself.

“No! I mean, no.. I just wondered why you were using the rag,” Ariella sputtered to herself, she could feel the heat in her face spread to the tips of her ears.

“Sure you did,” Vilkas smirked at her, “Werewolves tend to run hot. While you were shivering the whole trip here, I was sweating in both armor and having you attached to me.”

“Well you didn’t seem to mind,” Ariella glared playfully at him, watching him take a bite of bread.

“Neither did you,” Vilkas gave her another wink, chuckling as she averted her gaze again. He leaned over and set the tray on the floor and held out a welcoming hand to Ariella. Ariella studied him, determining whether she would be comfortable with the situation she was in. She decided to take the chance and curl against his side, earning a large kiss on the side of her cheek.

“Since we have time to kill before that dragon you said turns up, did you want to stay here tomorrow?” Vilkas asked as he ran his fingers along her face. In truth, Ariella hadn’t thought about it. After a minute of thinking about it and not being able to decide, she ran her fingers along his chest,  tracing each muscle and memorizing each scar.

“We can figure that out tomorrow,” she glanced back up to meet his eye, which gazed back tenderly at her. She leaned in and kissed him before resettling herself in his arms, in the cozy little nook between his neck and shoulder, and sleep took them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait guys!


	25. I Shouted at the Jarl of Windhelm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariella and Vilkas make their way to Kynesgrove, their adventure doesn't go as smoothly as they would like.

                Getting up wasn’t nearly as easy as Ariella wanted. She knew it would be cold outside, and likely everything would be covered in a layer of snow. She curled closer to Vilkas and groaned into his chest. Vilkas chuckled beside her, pulling her closer against him and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. She ran her fingers through the curls on his chest, staring blankly at the wall. Kynesgrove wasn’t far and walking there wouldn’t take too long.

                “What would you like to do?” Vilkas asked her calmly as he stroked her arm. Ariella pursed her lips, debating to herself. It was hard for her to concentrate with such a handsome shirtless man lying next to her in a small cozy bed, where it was nice and toasty warm. She absentmindedly went back to playing with his chest hair, scooting herself closer to all of his body heat.

                “Screw the damn dragon, let’s stay in bed,” Ariella muttered, nuzzling back up against Vilkas’ neck. She could feel his chuckle through his neck, he turned to face her and pulled her closer to him. Ariella lost track of time in his arms, whether it was minutes or hours, until she finally had to get up. She let out a groan as she reached for pieces of her armor, Vilkas ran his hand lightly along her back.

                After they both pulled their armor on and repacked the few things they had, they set off back out of Windhelm. Ariella pulled her mask up and hood on as they left their safe cozy room, and nodded to the Innkeeper as they departed. Like Ariella thought, everything had been covered in a light layer of snow and the temperature was low. She was tempted to turn around and go back inside, but Vilkas wove his fingers through hers and gave her an assuring smile as they kept walking.

                Leaving Windhelm didn’t make Ariella as nervous this time as she noted the mannerisms of the guards. They stood their posts at the gate, but seemed to be staring off in odd directions and not paying much attention to the people leaving. The guards inside the gates had been lazily strolling through the streets, hardly paying mind to their surroundings. Further down the bridge, the tension had been eased out of Ariella. They passed the stables and nodded to the Altmer couple that owned it before continuing on up the road. Vilkas and Ariella didn’t speak on the road to Kynesgrove, the only contact they had was holding hands. Snow fell lightly as they hiked along, flakes brushed against Vilkas’ bare face causing it to turn red from the cold.

                Further on down the road, they made it to Kynesgrove. They wasted no time escaping the cold, taking refuge in the inn. Ariella approached the smiling Innkeeper and paid for a room for the two of them, along with a warm meal and some ale. The couple remained quiet as they went to their room and pulled off their armor. They kept quiet as they ate, and stayed quiet for a long time before Vilkas spoke.

                “You never told me why you are so nervous about Windhelm now,” He stated quietly, hinting that he was curious to know. Ariella studied his face for a moment before looking down at her fidgeting hands. She opened her mouth to speak, and closed it after no words came out. Vilkas spoke again quickly as he noticed Ariella tense up, “You don’t have to tell me if you aren’t comfortable with it.”

                “No, I.. I suppose I should tell someone. When I went to Windhelm last, aside from our trip, it was when Bryn, Karliah and I had come back after killing Mercer. We had almost drowned, like I had mentioned and I decided to stop and get warm clothes to travel in,” Ariella swallowed hard before continuing, “I thought that maybe I could visit Ulfric. Maybe I would be offered supper after all that I had gone through in Irkngthand. I went to the Palace without a problem, everyone there knew me as Dragonborn at that point. I went to find Ulfric, and I overheard him, Galmar and Jorlief, talking about politics. They were discussing Ulfric marrying someone, namely me. When I had heard they had been planning it, I was mad. Instead of doing the sensible thing and leaving, I stormed in yelling about betrayal and shouted at the Jarl of Windhelm.”

                Vilkas stared at her with wide eyes as he listened, his jaw dropping after she mentioned shouting at the Jarl. “What on Nirn were you thinking woman?! Do you want life in Windhelm prison?” He exclaimed as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly.

                “Well it didn’t exactly _end_ there,” Ariella shook Vilkas’ hands off of her, “I also stole a getaway horse and rode it all the way to Whiterun.” She bit her lip as she watched him lip the word no, taking his head into his hands. He shook his head as he mumbled to himself, Ariella ignored it and continued to nitpick at a piece of bread.

                “It’s a bloody miracle he hasn’t sent his Stormcloak goons after you already,” Vilkas huffed, reaching for Ariella’s hand to pull her to him. Ariella moved onto his lap, and snuggled against his chest. She knew she didn’t need him to tell her what she did was stupid. She already knew before she thought about going back to Windhelm. “Ariella?” Vilkas spoke again, much softer this time, “I will always protect you, no matter what. Doesn’t matter if it’s Ulfric Stormcloak, that former master of yours, or even the damned Thalmor. Nothing will take you away from me.”

                Ariella kissed his cheek, cupping the other cheek in the palm of her hand. He gazed back at her lovingly, still shaking his head in disbelief. For the first time in a while, she thought everything would be alright.

 

 

                They woke up to screaming and smoke.  Vilkas jumped up first, quickly followed by Ariella. They ran outside to locate the screaming and found the innkeeper panicking as she ran in circles, unsure what to do. Fire had begun to consume the nearby tents and the fence protecting her crops, the miners desperately tried to water down the fire. When the innkeeper spotted the couple, she screamed again.

                “Run for your lives! Run while you can!” She screamed as she tried to protect her crops from flames.

                “What’s going on?!” Vilkas asked, and was answered by a nearby roar of a dragon.

                “A dragon! By the eight they are real! It flew over and breathed fire everywhere!” She shook while she spoke, sharply turning back to the inn. The flames continued to spread until it reached the side of the inn. “I’m going to get help!” She yelled over the panicked miners before turning and running down the road. Vilkas turned and ran back to the inn, being tailed by Ariella.

                “Vilkas, what about Delphine?” Ariella yelled over the panicked yells outside and the sound of fire licking against the wooden inn.

                “There’s no time for Delphine! The dragon’s here now! Now hurry before this whole place is up in flames!” Vilkas quickly began shoving his stuff in a bag, and throwing on armor as quickly as possible. Ariella hesitated before following suit, tugging on her tight armor. The flames ate at the straw roof of the inn, smoke began to fill it quickly. Ariella didn’t even finish putting on armor before throwing her pack over her shoulder and scooping it all up to escape. Half of the inn was already in flames as they exited their room, making their way out to safety. Once outside, Ariella and Vilkas quickly finished putting on their armor and strapping on their weapons.

                It was hard to find the dragon in the night, they followed the sounds of roaring. They raced uphill towards the sound, Ariella almost missed it if it hadn’t blocked out Secunda in the sky. Ariella froze in place when she noticed the details of the dragon. He was much larger than other dragons she had seen, and looked a lot more intimidating. His body spiked and sharp, he had looked like something out of nightmares. His scales were blacker than the sky, and his eyes were deep red. Ariella knew this dragon, it was the same one from Helgen.


	26. Dovahkiin

                Ariella felt as if her heart were about to burst from her chest. Helgen seem an age away, but she could still recall all the details: The frantic fear everyone had felt, the desperate fighting off the seemingly impossible foe, the smell of burning flesh and wood intertwining through the air.

                The dragon didn’t seem to notice them as they snuck up, crouching behind boulders, continuing his business.

                “Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!” The dragon’s voice shouted at a large mound beneath him, making the ground quake. Ariella dared to adventure closer, keeping her bow ready. _The dragon must be powerful looking at his size_ , Ariella thought, trailing her arrow on him. The dragon shouted again at the mound, the sound echoed through the air, “Sten tiid vo!”

                The ground shook, distracting Ariella enough to lose her mark. There was an exploding sound from the mound, and an erupting roar as another dragon drug its way from its grave.  _He’s bringing back all the dragons,_ Ariella thought as she felt the blood drain from her face. _One dragon was hard enough to fight, but two?_ She watched the new dragon emerge and regrow its flesh and scales, she felt paralyzed in her place.

                “Alduin Thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?” The new dragon spoke, sending chills down her spine.

                “Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir,” The black dragon spoke again to its newly risen minion. The black dragon then turned directly in Ariella’s direction, her heart stopped as she met the dragon’s eye. Adrenaline pushed through her body, begging her to run. “Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu’u koraav nid nol dov do hi.”

                Ariella stared up at the dragon, unsure how to respond to him. The language sounded so familiar, yet so foreign.

                “You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah,” The dragon hissed, his eyes locked on her frozen form. Ariella had no trouble understanding him now, growling at his insults. The large black dragon turned to his minion and spoke again, “Sahloknir, kri daar joore.”

                With that, the black dragon flew away at a remarkable speed as Sahloknir leapt into the air. The force knocked Ariella back, crashing her back into a boulder. The roar it let out was challenging as it circled them from above. Vilkas leapt forward from cover to help Ariella regain her balance, just in time to pull her away from the oncoming stream of frost breath. Vilkas and Ariella split up, Ariella launching arrows and Vilkas waiting in cover for the dragon to land.

                It was hard to keep up with the dragon who moved so quickly, dodging Ariella’s arrows by flying behind the trees for cover. It seemed like ages before she got a good shot in, piercing the membrane of its wing, forcing it to land. The arrow seemed to irritate the dragon a great deal, as it focused its attention mainly on Ariella. It was much harder for her to avoid his frost, and before long she was running out of cover as the dragon pushed her back. Vilkas continued to attack the dragons back side, avoiding the swipes of its tail and occasional kick.

                Sahloknir moved from rock to rock, breathing frost down before Ariella had nowhere else to go. The only thing behind her was open field and a few trees, which wouldn’t provide much safety. When Ariella thought she was done for, a stray arrow found it’s mark in the side of the dragon’s neck, shocking him with a shock enchantment. It was enough to distract him from Ariella, who circled her way around into cover. She met eyes with Delphine, who gave her a nod in acknowledgement before ducking under the dragon’s frost.

                Ariella continued to unleash arrows until the dragon lay still and burnt away into the air. The soul flocked to her, absorbing into her body. Delphine approached after Vilkas, shaking her head in disbelief.

                “Sorry I was late, ran into bandit trouble on the road. But it seems like you were handling yourself alright,” Delphine apologized, stopping a few feet away from the couple. Vilkas wasted no time glaring at the woman, who seemed to think they couldn’t have done it without her.

                “That’s alright Delphine, you’re here now,” Ariella spoke as she gently touched Vilkas’ arm, giving him a soft look, “I believe you owe me some answers now.”

                “I do, don’t I? Go ahead, ask me whatever you want. Nothing held back,” Delphine spoke truthfully.

 

                Ariella watched as Delphine walked away to Riverwood, twirling the small key to her secret basement in her hand. She was much too tired to walk all the way back to Whiterun overnight, and there wouldn’t be any luck with the now burnt down Kynesgrove. She glanced to Vilkas, who seemed to be waiting for her to realize they had one option. She let out a sigh before reaching for Vilkas’ hand, her cold fingers warmed by his Nordic skin.

                The walk back to Windhelm seemed repetitive at this point, uneventful and boring. Not that Ariella minded after dealing with _that_ dragon. Her stomach felt unsettled as they walked, the uncertainty stained the air around the couple the closer they got to the city. It couldn’t be coincidence that it was the exact same dragon, could it? Even so, something about that dragon wasn’t right. Reanalyzing how the other dragon acted to the much larger, more intimidating black dragon, something made him seem important. It was hard not to know how to deal with this; frustrating that now in the midst of all these problems that people expected the Dragonborn to fix, there was this _huge_ threat flying around Skyrim, resurrecting dragons.  Ariella was so deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to work it all out, she almost didn’t feel the light tap on the shoulder. Vilkas had nudged her as they began approaching the city, urging her to pull her hood up, not bothering with the face mask.

                They walked into Windhelm, barely noticed by the guards who lazily stared off into the space surrounding the city walls. Vilkas quickly guided Ariella into Candlehearth hall, leaving her to buy a room. She huddled by  a corner, assuming she would be safe out of the way of people. She quickly realized she was wrong when someone quickly barreled into the side of her as they made their way in. About to insult them and nag them for not paying attention, the deep voice made her blood freeze in her veins.

                “Ariella.”

                Out of all of her luck in the world, it had to be Ulfric Stormcloak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to force myself to sit down and finish writing this chapter. Good ol' cliff hanger to leave you guys with


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